Blood is thicker than water
by Fenrisulven13
Summary: AU that starts before the season, Jim Shannon and his family comes to Terra Nova to start over but can his brother truly leave his dark past behind him even with the support of his family?. Can a broken soul truly be mended? Rated M for violence some harsh language and possible war atrocities. Family/Drama/Hurt/Comfort The Shannon family/OC2/Maddy.S/Reynolds/Others
1. It all starts with pain

**Blood is thicker than water**

Author: Fenrisulven13

Summary: Jim Shannon took care of his younger brother Ben after their abusive father nearly killed him. Ben would do _anything_ for Jim and his family.

**This is my first story so bear with me as writing well is NOT one of my strengths I would appreciate reviews this is**

2131

Shannon apartment

Jim had just finished the police academy at age 20 and was now dating Elisabeth who was working at the state hospital in Chicago, Jim´s father Richard had not been a good father always drinking and beating up both his sons and their mother when Jim started the academy Richard moved over all his frustration unto Ben their mother Jane tried her best but could not stand up to Richard and Ben always tried to stand up to his father to protect his mother the same as Jim usually did before he went off to the academy but at age 10 being much smaller than his father and only made Richard beat him even worse.

Since Richard had gotten fired years earlier and rather spent his days drinking while Jane had to work double shifts to support her remaining son.

Jane came home coughing again the week before she noticed she had been coughing up blood but hadn't gone to the hospital as they needed the money,

Richard sat on the couch watching TV and drinking as usual she could hear some music being played from Ben's room all of a sudden she was overcome with another coughing fit that made her fall down

Richard had not heard her come in as he dropped the bottle he was merrily emptying, it's contents pouring out on the floor. "Look what you made me do woman…now STOP THAT DAMN NOISE!"

He got up and walked unsteadily up to where Jane was still coughing heavily, blood coming through her mouth, Richard kicked her in the stomach _,She was always holding him back AND those two brats of hers. "_I SAID STOP THAT DAMN NOISE!"

Ben was playing a game on his computer pad when he heard his father yelling , He ran out of his room only to see his mother lying on the floor and his father kicking her he had always hated that man , He ran in front of him putting himself in between Richard and Jane.

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE" he yelled he did not have to wait long before the first fist came flying his way.

Richard kept beating on Ben, "_The little shit dared to take tone with me"._ "I'LL TEACH YOU TO RESPECT ME YOU LITTLE PUNK" he practically screamed as he continued to punch him the boy tried to fight back but it was useless as Richard was much bigger and stronger Richard simply threw Ben against the door after which he even kicked him in the chest for good measure.

Richard heard some noise in the apartment complex apparently some nosy neighbors had heard him he grabbed his jacket and went out the door leaving both his wife and son lying lifeless on the floor.

Chicago Mercy hospital

Elisabeth was working late that night and was talking to the desk nurse when the ambulance personnel brought in two stretchers a woman and a young boy both looked clearly beaten,

"What have we here?" she asked with all the calm she had learned at medical school.

"Possible domestic violence" the personnel answered.

When Elisabeth heard them announce them as Jane and Ben Shannon her heart practically stopped Jim had told her about his family and she had even met both Ben and Jane a couple of times so she knew them both.

Elisabeth and another doctor immediately took Ben to the OR and a couple more took away Jane the Ambulance personnel said her condition was critical "We scanned her in the ambulance it looks like pulmo replasia" one of them said.

Chicago PD 23rd precinct

Jim was still doing some paper work when the desk sergeant told him that his mother and brother had been taken to the hospital he didn't even wait for permission as he flew of his desk and out of the building and took the first bus to Mercy hospital where his fiancée worked as well .

**Well that's the first chapter I apologize if my writing is a little "jumpy" I have never written a story like this before so give a guy a break!**


	2. Tears of blood

**OH! I forgot about the disclaimer yes I do not own Terra Nova which is damn obvious because if I had it would not have been cancelled and I also do not own any of the characters except the ones I created myself oh and thanks for the reviews!**

…Mercy hospital…

Jim entered the room and stared at the bed where his little brother was laying unconscious, He had been told earlier that Jane had been declared DOA.

Ben´s condition had been worse than they thought at first, with a couple of cracked ribs and some other internal injuries. He almost died.

"Goddamn that coward" Jim muttered under his breath.

He just KNEW it had to be their father. He felt a petite hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Elisabeth's face. There was a tear rolling down her cheek.

"I´m sorry Jim… God I´m so sorry", she whispered as he embraced her in a hug, which she returned.

Earlier Jim had been to the morgue to see their mother. There was a cop at the hospital Jim talked to who filled him in that it was most likely domestic violence based on statements from the neighbors. Jim hugged Elisabeth for a while before he walked up to Ben.

"I´ll make this right Ben I promise" he said.

…Three weeks later Shannon apartment…

After the court had given Jim full custody as Ben´s legal guardian, Jim, Ben and Elisabeth had gone back to the apartment to clear it out.

Richard had been arrested and confessed and had even had the nerve to look smug about it. Jim had to be restrained by his fellow police officers before he could launch himself at his father in the police precinct, Richard was promptly prosecuted for voluntary manslaughter and severe child abuse among other things.

Now they were in the apartment where both Jim and Ben had grown up in. Their grandfather had loved them, and had kept Richard from doing anything stupid, but after he died the beatings started.

Ben stared at the few drops of dried blood on the carpet were their mother had been laying, and both Jim and Elisabeth could see the boy struggling to keep the tears of sorrow and anger back. Jim, above all, knew how much Ben looked up to him, and that Ben refused to let Jim see him cry. Elisabeth could see it too, and felt a pang of pain at Ben´s stubborn pride. She saw the same pride in Jim´s eyes every time she looked at him as well, and loved him for it. Ben was just a boy, and should not have had to grow up this fast.

"Why are men so hard-headed about crying?" she thought as she looked over at Jim who caught the hint.

"I´ll start packing things up here. Why don´t you two go check out Ben´s room?" he asked.

When they entered Ben´s room, Ben stopped. Elisabeth could see the tears starting to fall down his face. Her heart nearly broke with relief as she embraced him, he buried his face on her  
shoulder, and the tears came at last. He sobbed quietly, as she held him and letting her tears fall as well.

…2133…Shannon residence…

When Elisabeth got pregnant with her second child, they were given a choice. Ben, now at age 14, was still legally a child. The Shannon's were given a choice: either Elisabeth had to abort her child, or Ben had to be taken away. Jim was furious. It took all his self control not to physically throw the population law official out.

"Mr. Shannon we are not suggesting we put him in one of those camps. There are alternatives after all", she said.

"Like WHAT - basic training?", Jim practically spat.

He knew full well the basic training for any child that was taken like this would most likely be used as gun fodder.

"I´m sorry, but the law is the law Mr. Shannon. A family is four, and it doesn´t matter if Benjamin is your brother. Yes, he will be taken care of. If you are no longer his legal guardian, your wife would not have to abort her child, and he would be allowed to visit", the official continued.

"When will I have to leave?" Ben asked.

"BEN!" both Jim and Elisabeth almost shouted in unison, but it didn´t deter him.

When Jim and Elisabeth took him in, and later when Josh was born, he vowed that he would do ANYTHING for them. Jim was his brother, and Elisabeth was like a sister to him. Personally, he could understand the logic behind the population, law but he would be damned if he ever agreed with it.

"Jim… Liz… we will still be family. This is for the best. I will NOT have you abort your baby because of me!"

The population official gave a hint of a smile.

"You can stay until you´re 15, and after that you will be enrolled at the state military academy!" she said.

Jim huffed at the word academy; he knew that if they agreed with this, Ben would legally be an unwanted child, even if he was ANYTHING but unwanted to Jim and Elisabeth. Whenever Jim had to work or was thrown out by her during Elisabeth´s first pregnancy, it was always Ben that stayed at home. Sometimes he even played the fiddle he got from Jim and Ben´s grandfather for her, which always seemed to cheer her up.

Elisabeth was ready to go into tears.

"DAMN your stubborn pride Ben. You can´t do this - it´s a death sentence!", she cried out.

She ran into the bedroom she shared with Jim. With all the savage conflicts of the modern age, she knew Ben was likely to get killed.

"Since Ben will be a special case, he will go into the youth program directly under…", the official searched some documents on her computer pad, "Ah! General Philbrick. He´s known to be tough I´ve been told - but fair!".

Jim looked at Ben trying to stare him down, but Ben didn´t flinch and simply stared back with determination in his eyes, "It´s for the best Jim. I made a promise to never let you or Liz OR your kids suffer especially not because of me!"

Jim felt an immense pride at how mature Ben was, even though he could see he was scared, despite his attempts to hide it.  
Jim finally relented,

"All right. Where do I sign?" Jim said to the official who simply offered up her pad.

Jim signed the document literally giving over his brother to the very people he hated with a passion and Ben signed his own name as well.

…Somalia 2137…

Axis psi-ops had really done a number on his unit with their chemical attack. At first, they thought it was poison gas or something. Nothing could have prepared them for what happened over the next few hours, as everyone started hallucinating. Then followed extreme paranoia, and all of a sudden, friend became foe.

It was like a slaughter house when they were finally rescued. They found Ben sitting and holding his blood stained combat knife in his hands. He was covered in blood - mostly that of his comrades, as the hallucinogenic, as well as paranoia inducing compound. started to leave his system .

"What happened here soldier?" a stern voice asked in a southern accent.

Ben looked around as if in a haze, and looked up at a grizzled grey-haired man in uniform and combat armor. Before he could answer, a woman with black hair in a ponytail, who had been examining him and the other affected soldiers said "Looks like some Axis psi-ops toys, just like with the other survivors, sir. We´re not likely to get anything coherent from him until it´s completely out of his system".

Ben was put on a stretcher and loaded together with what was left of his company on a helicopter. He tiredly looked up at the older officer.

"What´s your name son" the officer asked with a gentler voice this time.

"Private Ben Shannon sir", he said with as steady a voice as he could.

He tried to look tougher, which of course, failed miserably. The older man smiled warmly, which almost made him look like some long since extinct predator, "Well, son. My name is Captain Nathaniel Taylor and the nice lady who´s patching you up is Sergeant Alicia Washington."

The sergeant nodded simply at him before she gave him a needle with something that made him very sleepy, all he wanted now was to get home to Jim and Elisabeth and Josh and Maddy and forget this nightmare ever happened…..but could he?

...

Jim had a fitful rest as he thought, "My father had also been a soldier. Was it something like THIS that turned him into such an asshole? Could Ben become just like him? He certainly had the same anger problems."

Darkness took him as he fell asleep.

After a few weeks in a Veterans Hospital, Jim and Elisabeth came and brought him home, as he was given an extended leave when they got home he was accosted by the kids.

"UNCLE BEN!" both Josh and Maddy shouted. as they lunged at him and he captured them in a crushing hug.

He loved these kids more than his own life. The three month tour in Somalia was what he literally thought of as hell. He was absolutely disgusted by the very concept of war, but for his family he would gladly walk through hellfire just to make sure they were kept safe.

…Hope Plaza 2149…

Ben waited in the secure area with the guard Elisabeth had bribed to help them bring Jim Zoe and Ben to Terra Nova. It would be risky, but Ben and Elisabeth had planned it out carefully with some friends Jim was already on his way….or so they hoped.

When Zoe was born, Ben was just as overjoyed as Jim and Elisabeth, but he knew they could never keep her hidden forever. The law was after all the law. HOW he hated that damn word. At the moment Zoe was in a large pack on the floor sleeping from the sedative she´d been given. In his own pack was Ben´s most treasured belonging - his fiddle - and a large mean looking knife he once took off a Phoenix mercenary that had butchered and raped children in a village in Somalia. Even though the man had technically been an allied soldier, he felt no remorse in killing him with his own knife.

He´d officially gone AWOL to help get Jim out of jail AND get both himself and Zoe into Hope Plaza, so by now he was himself a law breaker. Though would most likely serve a lot longer time than Jim, he was interrupted in his musings when the nearby door opened to reveal Jim.

"What the hell took you so long Jim?" Ben asked anxiously.

"I got a little sidetracked, plus the traffic was a little hectic. Apparently the military police is out chasing some fool that´s gone AWOL. Know anything about that, little brother?" Jim said with a little hint of amusement in his voice before he hugged him.

"You´re late, you´ve got the money?" said the guard.

Jim simply threw the bag he was carrying into the man's arms, "If you get caught, I don´t know you all right?"

The guard continued, "Yeah yeah you´ve got your money!"

Jim said angrily before he turned to Ben, "well Benny let´s get going shall we?"

Ben narrowed his eyes.

"I HATE when you call me that Jimmie!" Ben said back to him.

They used to tease each other using such pet names. Of course their grandfather had used their given names James and Benjamin for the very same reason which both hated even more.

They soon caught up with the rest of the family and Jim handed over the pack with Zoe in it to Elisabeth.

Everything looked as if it was going to be ok. What both men had not thought of was two things: first, they were caught on camera, and the presence of INTELLIGENT guards…TOO intelligent for their liking.

"Sirs will you please step this way!" one of the guards ordered.

"There must be some mistake" Jim tried to explain as he watched his family go through the portal.

That´s when Ben´s combat training took over, he punched the guard in the face, and managed to take his pulse rifle. Then, Jim and Ben were running toward the portal, with Jim punching a couple of other guards on the way, Jim ran straight through the portal with Ben right behind him.

…Terra Nova 85 million BC (more or less)…

Jim came out of the portal running and almost fell over from the experience. His lungs drew in clean air for the first time in his life which sent him into slight shock. About three seconds later Ben, almost came flying out off the portal only to crash into him and they both went down in a pile of arms legs and smothered curses.

As they were trying to breathe in the fresh air and untangle from each other someone suddenly shouted "GUN!"

Both Jim and Ben pointed their weapons at the assembled soldiers which they only now realized were surrounding them.

"GET AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!" Jim shouted at them he could see Ben readying his rifle in the corner of his eye.

They saw they were outnumbered, they almost simultaneously dropped the weapons. Jim could see Elisabeth, Josh and Maddy getting help by some doctors but where was the pack with Zoe?

"Check their packs for more weapons!" the officer ordered

"NO!" yelled every member of the Shannon family, as they all got up and ran to the very bag.

One of the soldiers was about to cut open with his knife, Jim got there first and punched the soldier squarely in the face. As Elisabeth opened the pack and revealed little Zoe, the soldiers calmed down significantly.

After everyone had been checked this time, a bit friendlier, the column of people started walking toward the colony escorted by the soldiers. Almost every member of the Shannon family was nervous except Zoe who kept looking up at the sky and just about everything else.

Ben could understand that the poor girl had very seldom if ever been out of the apartment during her short life except. when those thugs from the population law police had come for her.

"What are those?" she asked curiously.

"What are what honey?" asked Elisabeth.

"Those white things in the sky!" said Zoe.

That had Ben looking up, and that´s when he saw those cotton like blobs in the sky. He had only seen pictures of them in school and on old movies but never had he ever seen real actual clouds.

Thanks to all the shit in the atmosphere in the future, the smog layer had become so thick that not even the sun's rays could get through in most places anymore. But here in the pre-historic past, there WAS no smog - no pollution of any kind. He smiled at the thought of it.

"Those are clouds, Pumpkin," Jim answered his youngest daughter, who looked at him.

"They´re so white," Zoe said.

All of a sudden there was the familiar sound of a sonic mine going off and an earsplitting shriek from something very large and very angry, which caused the entire column to stop. They could hear the officers speaking.

"An Allosaur tripped a sonic mine," the male officer said, as the female officer that looked familiar to Ben was talking into her communicator.

He couldn't hear what she said but she kept eyeing the family especially Jim and Ben suspiciously a few times.

They soon cleared the jungle and the rough road they were walking on, and could finally see the colony in a large valley, surrounded by mountains. They could also see what looked like a large lake that seemed to be within the colony´s boundaries.

_**Well that´s chapter two and a big thank you to Ayziks for Beta and good advice also thank you to doctor Anthony for review and also good advice!**_

_**OH and you may have seen that I put in a little something about Philbrick as well as Taylor and Wash into this chapter I just had to!**__  
_


	3. A Fresh Start

**Chapter three I hope y'all can enjoy it and please review**

As they entered the gates of the settlement Elisabeth looked worriedly at both Jim and Ben "Do you think we might get into trouble over this?" She asked.

Jim shrugged, "Don´t worry. You´re a doctor. Plus, you were recruited here, so they may cut you some slack and I don´t think they´ll make too much fuss over Zoe either," he said reassuringly.

"I, on the other hand, am an escaped convict, and Ben I think is now officially a deserter."

"Whatever happens - we´ll get through it together," Ben said with a smile at Jim and Elisabeth.

As Ben walked past them and made a face at Zoe and Maddy that made both giggle. Ben never once had blamed Jim for leaving for the police academy, even though Jim came home to visit as often as he could.  
After that final beating that practically took their mother away and sent their father to jail, Ben had at first refused to even speak to him for a while, but he later said that he understood why Jim couldn´t always be there for them.

Despite the tragedy Ben had always been cheerful, and had grown up into a fine man. Jim just wished he could have done something to prevent what happened to him before. When Jim and Elisabeth had visited him during the last day at the military youth academy, Ben had looked so proud, and they had all been happy to see each other.

It was a complete shock to both Jim and Elisabeth when they picked him up at the veterans hospital after Somalia. He looked worn out, and his hard grey eyes had a sort of pained - almost self loathing - look in them when they had embraced him. He had started crying uncontrollably into their chests. That was the second time Ben had cried after their mother died, and the first time Jim ever saw him cry. Elisabeth had often said, "Crying is sometimes what is needed before one could start to heal"

Though Ben never spoke of what had happened and rarely smiled, except with the kids, Jim could clearly see that he loved fiercely and they totally adored him.

Many years later after Ben had been wounded and almost died in Cuba, Ben was transferred to the Delta force anti terrorist detachment in Washington. It had still been dangerous work, but at least not as much. Jim was glad. At least here there were no conflicts or terrorists or rebels to fight here. They could truly be a family ALL of them together and maybe they could all help Ben truly heal.

Jim could see that Ben tried to hide it, but both he and Elisabeth could see how he suffered with the nightmares and that classical 'thousand yard stare', which up until then, Jim had thought he would never have to see in the face of his own brother. Even though Ben seemed to have gotten over the worst of it, Jim blamed the government for turning boys into both killers and victims like his brother. He blamed their father for beating them but most of all he blamed himself for failing to help Ben in the first place.

After Commander Taylor's speech, Jim, Elisabeth and Ben was taken into the command center to talk with Taylor. Ben at first had to wait just outside the office and while he waited he watched the children, Josh looked grumpy.

"Not surprising," Ben thought since his girlfriend was still in the future. He also had a lot of resentment after Jim had been taken away to jail. Zoe and Maddy, on the other hand, looked like they couldn´t wait to see more of this place - especially Maddy, who practically jumped up and down out off excitement at all the new things she could learn.

She was considered a child prodigy - a genius. Ben was still amazed at how much knowledge that girl could fit into her head. Sometimes, when she got into one of her explanations, he really felt inferior, but he was proud and he knew she could really make something out of her life.

He noticed a couple of soldiers eyeing her approvingly and scowled at them. He was not blind to the fact that Maddy was growing up to be quite a beauty. She had clearly inherited her mother's looks, but that didn´t stop Ben from feeling suspicious of those soldiers. He knew EXACTLY how soldiers viewed innocent young girls like Maddy. He had seen it all too often among his fellow soldiers in the future. For them it was usually nothing but some sort of sick game. He had broken the nose of a soldier that had said, "Find them, use them, and loose them."

Maddy had been through enough with the bullying at school - a fact that had become all too obvious when Josh had told him that many of the kids called her names like nerd or freak. She had even been physically harassed a few times - something that made Ben furious. The name calling were bad enough, but when it went physical, it was pure cowardice. He himself had been known as a fighter and 'problem kid' in school. There was more than one time that either Jim or Elisabeth - or both - had been called by the principal. He also knew Josh had gotten into a lot of fights over Maddy´s treatment in school.

Ben swore that if anyone tried anything he didn´t like with Maddy or any of the Shannon children, ESPECIALLY those soldiers, he would tear them limb from limb. He was quite sure that both Jim and Josh would help him in such an endeavor. All the other people had been showed to where they would live by soldiers, acting as guides. In the corner of his eye he saw a young soldier that couldn´t be more than eighteen or twenty at the most slowly come walking towards the kids with a friendly smile on his face as soon. As the young man's eyes landed on Maddy, Ben couldn't help but snicker as the boy looked absolutely dumbstruck. Ben couldn´t help but laugh silently as the boy managed to stumble over his own feet nearly falling down, looking like a moron.

"Why did Maddy, or any of the children have to grow up?" he thought, before he realized just how silly the very thought was. He remembered Elisabeth saying something similar when Josh had come home from school one day, and put all his toys into boxes when he met Kara the first time.

At that moment, Elisabeth came out of the office and the male officer ushered Ben inside. He lingered for a few moments to eye the young soldiers as if to warn them telepathically to keep their hands and even eyes to themselves.

As he entered the office he caught the end of the conversation between Taylor and Jim "Agriculture is a man short so I´m assigning you there" Taylor said to Jim.

"My daughter says I have whatever the opposite of a green thumb is…but I´ll do the best I can" he said and left the office after a worried look at Ben.

"Good. At least Jim and Liz seemed to be off the hook," Ben thought before he almost automatically stood at attention as he faced Commander Taylor.

Taylor gave Ben a scrutinizing look before he started, "Benjamin Franklin Shannon: first in the US youth corps, in Somalia, after which you got promoted to corporal, and then Cuba and later transferred to Delta force where you were promoted to Sergeant"

He seemed to be going through Ben's entire life, Ben groaned at the name was named after - one of the USA's founding fathers. That had given him a LOT of grief in school.

"What I don´t get is why someone that was decorated for bravery TWICE - first in Somalia and then later in Cuba - would go AWOL, and then help an escaped fugitive through the portal."

Taylor continued with a disapproving frown, as he burrowed his eyes into Ben´s own, but Ben didn´t flinch. Taylor seemed to pick up on this, as the corner of his mouth twitched with only the slightest smile,

"I did what I did for my brother and his family sir. If you are going to punish someone, then punish me and leave them out of this" Ben said with all the confidence he could muster.

Taylor's smile grew wider, "Your brother said something similar about you" he said approvingly.

"You sure have come a long ways since Somalia son" he said.

Then it all fell into place. Commander Nathaniel Taylor.

Ben had heard Maddy ramble all sorts of facts about Terra Nova, and had then mentioned Taylor being in command here.

"The last time I saw you, you were in Heartbreak Valley. It was my unit that found the remains of your youth company after Axis psi-ops had screwed y'all over" Taylor said with only the slightest hint of anger in his voice.

Ben understood why Axis psi-ops had committed numerous war crimes not only in Somalia but elsewhere. Somalia was then one of the few places in the world where the air was still clean enough to breathe, so of course there had been heavy fighting over it and Heartbreak Valley. It had been named such by the soldiers, because of the very same screwed up operation that still caused Ben and so many other young soldiers a few nightmares now and then.

Then Ben noticed the female officer with lieutenant insignia on her shoulder pads standing on Taylor's right side and he finally recognized her as then-Sergeant Alicia Washington, "I remember now sir. I forgot to thank you for that sir" Ben said.

"No need. It was our duty. I´m only saddened we didn't come sooner. Plus you were kind of out of it at that moment. I´m surprised you remember anything at all," Taylor said with a hard look in his face.

"Anyway for going AWOL, I´m of half a mind to put you on latrine duty until the next age"

That comment about latrine duty actually made Ben loose his composure, and he cringed a bit, which made both Taylor and Washington crack a smile, "BUT since you DID do it for the right moral reason, and since I don´t care much for those population laws" Taylor said the last with some disdain.

"Plus we can actually use more good soldiers around here, so I´ll give you a chance to prove yourself. If you can drag your sorry ass back up here at O eight hundred in the morning I´ll think about it. Until then you go help your family get settled" Taylor said.

Ben saluted both of them out of habit, which felt a bit awkward, since he was wearing civilian clothes and said, "Yes sir."

He turned around and walked out of the office and down the stairs to his family who looked at him.

"I half expected you to come out of there with an armed escort," Josh blurted out only, to get smacked in the back of his head by Maddy.

"How come you always have a knack for saying the wrong things, Josh?" she said with an annoyed look on her face.

"Well at least I breathe some between sentences" Josh teased her.

Ben smiled at their bantering. Despite all the wrongs in the future, Josh, Maddy and Zoe was still innocent, and he would do anything to keep it that way for as long as possible.

They followed the young soldier that looked very tensed.

"Christ that kid looks nervous. If he farts he´ll go into orbit!" Ben thought.

He noticed that even Maddy kept throwing the kid a few glances whenever she thought the guy wasn´t looking and of course vice versa. That almost sent him into a laughing fit.

"YEP she´s growing up - but don´t you DARE get frisky, boy," he thought.

He wondered if Jim or Elisabeth had noticed. Jim seemed completely oblivious, but then again he hadn´t seen the kids in two years. In his eyes Maddy was still fourteen.

When they finally got to the house, the soldier said with a slight accent that was barely noticeable, "Your quarters are here in the newer parts of the settlement. Some of these units aren´t quite finished. Most haven´t even been painted yet."

He continued telling them of a store further down the street, "If you need anything, just let us know."

He marched off after an all too obvious glance at Maddy, which Ben was half sure she must´ve picked up, as her face started getting red as a ripe tomato.

As they entered the house, Ben smiled as Maddy and Josh started a small bickering about who gets the bigger room.

"There´s no room for me" Zoe said with an innocent whine.

"We´ll figure something out sweetie," Jim said reassuringly to her, which made her look down to the floor sadly.

"She doesn´t know me," Jim said.

"It´s been two years last time she saw you. She was barely three," Elisabeth said.

Jim crouched down to Zoe´s level.

"Right we need to find a bed for ...what´s your name again?" Jim asked Zoe jokingly.

She just looked at Elisabeth and then at Jim.

"Oh yeah that´s right - Martha - so we need to..." Jim said as Zoe shook her head at him.

"Oh oh right - it´s Priscilla," he said which made Zoe start giggling and shake her head even more fiercely.

"Not Priscilla, huh?" Jim mock asked again, with a goofy look on his face by now

Both Maddy and Josh started peeking out from the rooms they were examining and everyone except Josh was smiling widely.

Jim snapped his fingers, "Oh. Wait, I´ve got. It´s Zoe! Yeah."

Zoe nodded and smiled even wider.

"Well hi Zoe. My name´s Alfredo and it's pleasure to meet you," Jim introduced himself, and Zoe started to shake her head again and she giggled.

"What?" Jim asked in mock surprise.

"No it´s not," Zoe said.

"Well what is it?" Jim asked his smile growing wider.

"Daddy," Zoe said matter of factually and Jim kissed her forehead.

Then Maddy settled the room dispute, since she and Zoe would share the bigger room, which caused a scowl on Josh´s face.

"I´ll go look at that store down the street and check out what they have there," Ben said, who was already examining the cupboards in the kitchen, and found those nasty protein shakes he had in the service.

Of course had a LOT worse during his tour in Somalia. Some fool had found some fruit trees and had passed them around which had caused Ben´s entire platoon to be taken out of action for a near week half in the infirmary. The other half practically occupying the latrine. He remembered actually longing for all that lovely smog at home since they, after that week, had to clean up after themselves. The platoon had been given all sorts of less-than-kind nicknames.

As Ben walked out, he could hear Josh saying something in an angry voice that he didn´t pick up on.  
He saw Zoe suddenly walking up to the fence. What he saw her walking towards was what almost made him freak out. It was he biggest damn animal he had ever seen (not that there were many animals left in 2149) to even reference with. He started running as he saw Zoe walk closer to whatever the HELL that overgrown lizard was, and Zoe was actually feeding the damn thing as she held a branch with some leaves on it and held onto it.

"ZOE!" he yelled, as the lizard took a bite out of the branch and literally lifted the girl up

"ZOE!" Ben heard Jim shout as he reached Zoe. He caught her as she let go of the branch, and looked at him and the others as if it was the easiest thing in the world and smiled at them.

As they later went to bed Ben and Jim came into an argument over who would sleep on the couch, and who would sleep on the floor. Zoe was going to sleep in the main bedroom with Elisabeth as she had been doing for the past two years in future, since they had to wait until the next day at least before they could get an extra bed for her.

"Ok let´s play rock paper scissors" Jim said smiling mischievously at Ben.

"Why? You always cheat anyway?!" Ben said.

"It´s impossible to cheat at THAT" Jim said.

"OH you´ll find a way," Ben said with a half smile, "Besides I always get to sleep on the floor" he continued.

"Nah I always let you take the better bunk," Jim said and Ben relented.

They played the game and of course Ben lost.

"Well I guess when I get to your age I´ll forget where I sleep too," Ben grumbled, which made Elisabeth smile at their antics. She could clearly see that both Ben and Jim were more at ease fooling around like that. It was like they were bonding as brothers again.

When Ben came home from Somalia, he had changed. Before when he was still a boy, she had managed to bond with him, and he was more open with his feelings around her than with Jim. At first, she knew Ben had some issues with Jim leaving when Ben was only eight years old. He seemed to have forgiven him later on, but she also knew Jim had felt guilty for not being there all the time, other than the few visits once in a while, whenever he could, and those few times he brought Elisabeth with him.

But after Somalia he had kept whatever emotions he had hidden, except that one time in the hospital, where he literally broke down in tears into their arms. As Elisabeth was trained in psychology as well as medicine, she could see he was in pain.

"Some wounds never heal, unless one gets help, and even then it is not certain," she thought.

She had, ever since he left at fifteen, felt guilty but also felt pride at his sense of responsibility towards the family and he never once complained. After Somalia, he had a look of being broken inside. The only thing that seemed to even bring some calm and even a smile to his face was Josh and Maddy.

At the ceremony where Ben was decorated for bravery that horrid General Philbrick had said: "You went to war as a boy and came back a man."

Elisabeth could´ve slapped the man for that.

"He had whatever innocence he had left stolen from him in that horrible place," she had thought angrily.

She had her father pull a lot of strings to get him to the veteran's hospital in Chicago after he got wounded in Cuba, so she could make sure he was given the best possible care. She volunteered to work there as well.

She was glad that Jim had gotten work on the agricultural detail, and she hoped Ben had gotten something similar. They had all gone through a couple of rough years after Jim was arrested. She had also found out about what Maddy had lived through in school - something that had made Ben literally fly off the handle. It was all she could do to prevent him from charging off and killing someone when he had found out that Maddy had been physically harassed. When Elisabeth had been recruited to Terra Nova, she had found out that Josh had gotten into a lot of fights trying to protect his sister. That´s when Elisabeth had decided that they would ALL go.

"Please God let us heal and be a family again," she whispered.

Terra Nova was their second chance for all of them as a family after all.

It was their BEST chance…..

**OK that was chapter three I'd like some reviews on how you thought of it! Thanks to Ayziks for Beta and advice, Read Ayziks work too.  
**


	4. New Place Old Jobs

NEW PLACE OLD JOBS

The Russo-Chinese soldiers just kept coming at him, he had long since run out of ammo for his pulse rifle and were now using his combat knife he had taken from that Phoenix merc he had been forced to kill a couple of weeks earlier. He stabbed one soldier several times, only to get pounced by another and then another. He kept on killing until the haze lifted from his eyes, and all of a sudden the enemy soldiers were gone - replaced by at least a dozen soldiers from his own youth platoon. Then he saw the blood on his knife. On his hands there was blood all over him - the blood of HIS COMRADES men he had trained and fought with.

"My God what have I done?" he whimpered and then he screamed.

Ben jackknifed to a sitting position, breathing fast and shivering, and looked around the room and soon realized where he was, in the Shannon house in Terra Nova on the floor beside the couch. Jim was still sleeping in, and as before the nightmares receded to the darker corners of his mind where they belonged.

"Uncle Ben?" he heard a feminine whisper. As he turned around he could see Maddy standing in the kitchen. She was still in her nightgown and she looked at him worriedly

"You ok?" she asked worry etched on her gentle face,

"I´m ok sweetie but what are you doing out bed?" he asked back.

"It´s six O clock and orientation starts at eight. Are you sure you´re ok?" she asked again.

"Hey I´m fine. I was just still not used to the new house," he answered, as he started to get up and rolled up his sleeping bag,

At THAT moment Jim finally decided to wake up, and looked bleary-eyed; first at him and then Maddy.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"About O six hundred hours" Ben answered.

"I´m gonna go for a quick run before breakfast" he continued.

"Just wait. I´ll join you" Jim said and got up himself and stretched.

As both men dressed and then walked out, Maddy couldn´t help but be amazed at how much alike they were. Both where well trained and muscled from years of work, although the scars on Ben´s body clearly gave him away as a soldier. Plus, his eyes had this hard grey tone to them, unlike her dad´s bright blue ones. He moved differently, more like some predator on the prowl, and she wondered if that young soldier was built similarly. He looked rather muscled under that tight green army shirt he´d been wearing. That thought made her blush, and she hoped Ben and - most of all her dad - had NOT seen how she had glanced at the soldier yesterday. She didn´t know why, all of a sudden, some boy was so interesting, but she couldn´t get his strong, kind features out of her mind.

"Why would him - or any boy - be interested in me anyway?" she thought as she started off to the bathroom and the shower.

Everyone in the family had told her that she WAS beautiful, and had nothing to be ashamed of. But it wasn´t the beauty that scared the boys away. It was usually whenever she opened her mouth that people started looking at her like she was some freak. 'The pretty nerd' she´d been called a few times. She was used to the name calling but it still hurt nonetheless.

She thought of Ben and how easily he shrugged off whatever nightmare must´ve been plaguing him. When she had entered the living room, he had been tossing and turning in the sleeping bag and even whimpering totally unlike how he behaved around the children. She knew he had such nightmares before through the years, and then as now, he had simply shrugged off any concerns of her and the rest of the family. Noth her parents just had a sad even guilty look in their eyes whenever anyone had asked, but had said nothing as to WHAT it was that bothered him;. Especially her dad had looked as if he felt directly responsible.

Maddy knew that Ben had been taken away when she was still an infant and enrolled into some youth academy. That to her sounded like those schools that had been active in the old twentieth century nations Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany she´d read about in history, and the boys that came out of those schools were fanatical murderers, but Ben was NOTHING like that.

Josh was the last one to wake up as usual and was everything BUT amused when Jim and Ben had literally dragged him out of bed and carried him into the shower which thanks to Maddy by now had only ICE COLD water running from it, both Elisabeth and Maddy had to place their hands over Zoe´s ears as to prevent her from hearing all the profanities coming from Josh at the same time as they were both laughing hard, when Josh finally came out shivering with cold and Jim waited outside as Ben had managed to arm-wrestle Jim into letting him use the shower first, after everyone had showered and dressed themselves and off course all three Shannon men almost looked blue from the cold showering they all went off to their various activities Jim caught Elisabeth in a strong hug and a long kiss

"Eeew" Zoe said in disgust and giggled

"yeah giggles I agree" Ben said laughing

"Giggles?" Zoe asked and looked up at him

"yeah that´s your new pet name Giggles because you look so awfully cute when you do just that" Ben said with a wide smile

"you´re silly" Zoe said and giggled again,

which made also Maddy smile as she was trying to take in her surroundings searching for a certain young soldier, Josh simply rolled his eyes at all of them.  
As Jim and Ben walked off and Jim punching Ben´s arm, Elisabeth turned and looked at Maddy

"well don´t you look nice sweetheart any particular reason?"  
she asked and smiled as Maddy blushed heavily so Maddy quickly changed the subject

"mom?! Dad and Uncle Ben seem happier now and you and Dad seem more happier as well"

she said, they had all noticed that both Jim and Ben goofing around as Josh had grumbled earlier,

"it´s this place it´s already good for us"

Elisabeth answered and smiled at Maddy´s attempt at changing the subject off course she had noticed the young man eyeing Maddy nervously the day before

"well sweethearts I need to get to the infirmary and get started on my new job you three take care and watch Zoe" she said as she walked toward the infirmary.

Mark Reynolds had never truly been interested in girls, true he noticed them but thought there were more important things to do and then yesterday he saw her, he couldn´t understand why THIS particular girl all but spellbound him so, her hair looked pitch black and her skin had this amazingly golden hew to it no doubt from her mixed heritage and her eyes appeared brown as far as he could see.

So here he was looking around for her like some stalker, he hoped he wouldn´t have to meet her father which frankly made him uneasy to say the least and that uncle of hers that kept staring at him with those piercing eyes of his, just her father looked more than capable but the other man looked like he must have been a soldier or something similar because of the way he moved and the fact that he also somehow managed to both keep an eye on the surroundings as if he was looking for possible threats and the other eye watching Mark intently as if he KNEW that Mark was looking at his niece.

Then he saw her just past the school house and heard the little one speaking of feeding the dinosaurs again and the only dinosaurs that had been near the colony for a couple of days now was the small herd of brachiosauri and THAT he knew something about at least maybe he could impress the girl with that then he noticed how she looked and just like the day before he was all but completely dumbstruck… she looked pretty without even trying and all of a sudden Mark felt as if his knees was going to buckle under him …He felt very uneasy something he couldn´t explain why, she was wearing a pale red dress that reached almost down to her knees,

"oh you do huh?" he said as he walked up to them

"maybe not a very good idea though"

the little one looked up at him and smiled and her sister swirled around which made her hair fly around a bit as well Mark had to concentrate NOT to stare at her like some moron

"you see whenever dinosaurs eat too much they get really sleepy and when they do the snore REAL loud" he continued as he crouched down to the little girls level,

he could see in the corner of his eyes that the older girl smiled shyly and seemed to be blushing as she looked at him as he rose and smiled at her, and then she started to ramble about that brachiosauri wasn´t true herbivores and a lot of other things about them that Mark could´ve never have guessed in a million years if he had been dumbstruck before was nothing to how he felt NOW.

_WOW she´s smart how could I even hope of having any chance with this girl she is so far above me I´d need a rocket just to get halfway _he thought as his heart almost stopped with despair but kept smiling as best as he could "oookay well maybe I´ll see you two later" he said as steady as he could at least he hoped he did and turned and walked off he wasn´t sure but he thought he heard her say something he just hoped he hadn´t scared her off by behaving like such a moron, maybe he could ask Wash for help she was after all a woman and might give him a few pointers on what girls might find attractive or Commander Taylor HE after all had been married so he should know how to get a girl interested shouldn´t he? This time around he got a better look at her,  
her hair wasn´t pitch black but very close to it, and her eyes was brown and seemed to have a tinge of amber in them and that smile was incredible

"Kill me now" Maddy said,

off course the first gorgeous boy she meets in Terra Nova and as usual she just HAD to scare him away by opening her mouth, maybe she could ask Uncle Ben for advise he´d been a soldier maybe he knew what soldiers found attractive in a girl or her mom SHE after all had to know how to get a boy interested?  
Maddy just hoped he was nice and not like the boys at home,  
at least she got a better look at him this time he had the same sort of short cropped hair as Ben only Ben´s hair was more curled like her dad´s and his eyes they looked as if there were three different colors battling it out in them she thought she could make out a little blue mixed in with green and also grey and that smile of his was amazing.

After having waved off Jim as he turned towards the agricultural department Ben headed straight for the command center he checked his watch and felt content he was making good time with at least fifteen minutes to spare, as he was walking up the stairs he heard a voice he hadn´t heard for near five years not since Cuba,

"well well well look what the nyko just dragged in" someone said in a heavy British accent which made Ben spin around

"hello Nick I thought you were in jail?" Ben said with barely held back contempt

"why is THAT any way to speak to an old friend?" Nick asked with that slippery voice of his,

as he said friend Ben could hear the contempt in his voice "we were NEVER friends Nick ESPECIALLY not after what you did and I´ll ask again why aren´t you in jail where you belong?" Ben asked,  
he could feel his anger rising he tried his best to keep it down,

"well let´s just say I had friends in high places even got me recruited to Terra Nova as you can see…Benji!" Nick said with a playful tone.

Ben and Nick had trained at the Youth academy, then served together in Somalia, and later in Cuba. Nick had raped a young girl on the army base where they were first stationed in Cuba, and Ben had testified against him at the court-martial and Nick had been sent to military prison camp in North Dakota, Nick casually swiped his hand through his bleach blonde hair and looked at Ben with those almost red eyes the man was almost albino looking, despite that he may have been considered decent looking if not for the scar running across his face cutting his nose all but in half, a scar Ben had given him in Somalia after Nick had raped and murdered several women. The sight of it was something he would never forget, and one of the worst recurring nightmares Ben still had. Ben had tried to get him prosecuted then but their CO had dropped the charges, thanks to a lack of evidence. Afterwards Ben had beaten the living shit out of him, and THAT was when he gave him the scar but thanks to several friends Ben had narrowly avoided a court martial himself that had been only two weeks before Heartbreak valley.

Ben gathered up all the self control he still had and turned to walk up the steps to Taylor's office when suddenly Nick grabbed his shoulder.

"DON´T TURN YOUR BACK TO ME you self righteous wanker," he said and now all that false charm was gone.

"I KNOW what you did but I wonder what that lovely family of yours would say if they knew that you had butchered almost half your platoon?"

Ben grabbed Nick and pushed him into the wall "You stay the hell away from my family you piece of shit," Ben growled.

"Is there a problem Mister Shannon?" asked Washington in her stern voice.

Both men turned toward her and straightened into attention, "No ma'am nothing at all," Ben said quickly.

"Smythe?" she asked Nick.

"Why nothing at all ma'am," Nick said his false charm back in place as if nothing had happened.

"Then I´d suggest you get ready for your OTG mission sergeant, outpost three needs those supplies," she ordered Nick.

"Yes ma'am," Nick said and saluted and turned around and marched off towards the motor pool.

Washington turned toward Ben, "The Commander is waiting Shannon get to it," she said.

"Yes ma'am" he answered and walked quickly up the stairs and into Taylors office.

Wash first looked after Smythe and then at Shannon. She didn´t know what that had been about, but there was some definite history, and obviously some bad blood between the two men. She had caught the end of their conversation about Ben killing his own men. She knew what had happened when her unit commanded by then captain Taylor had reached Heartbreak Valley. They had found that many, not just Ben Shannon´s unit, had turned on each other because of the hallucinogenic and paranoia inducing compound.

Ben Shannon, like all those fortunate to survive, was cleared of all blame afterwards. She still remembered seeing the gruesome scenes. Ben Shannon´s platoon wasn´t the only one - an entire battalion of soldiers had literally butchered one, and other Ben Shannon was one of only twenty six soldiers that had survived, and all of them according to the psyche files she´d been reading had severe PTSD afterwards. She had read Ben´s file and saw the other things. According to his own testimony he had walked in on another soldier from one of these Youth platoons that had raped and cut open some tribal women.

"Youth platoons," she thought, "Using so-called 'unwanted kids' as gun fodder was detestable at best."

After she had read Ben Shannon´s psyche profile about his rehabilitation, she questioned the Commander if possibly hiring him into the TN security detail was such a good idea. The man had seen way too much butchery at a young age to give him PTSD to last a lifetime, though he may have been one of the few lucky ones. Most of the others had been legally unwanted, with suicide in most cases. But Shannon had been a special case - he had a family that at least had taken care of him - a good and mostly law abiding family (except for the third child). Of course, there was the matter with the man's father having been an abusive drunkard that had killed his mother and beaten him half to death.

Alicia shook her head at all the cruelty in the future and prehistoric worlds, and walked in after him. She would just have to keep an eye on him, and apparently this Nicholas Smythe as well. It would seem that she didn´t know much about Smythe, other than that he was a complete scumbag. To call him a 'chauvinist pig' would have been a severe insult to the now extinct animal in question.

As Ben walked into Taylors office and stood at attention, "Reporting as requested sir. I have to apologize for my lack of appropriate apparel. I seem to have forgotten my uniform somewhere," he said, which made Taylor smile a little.

"At ease son, I´ve been going through your file, and you have had a distinguished career - except that business at the end apparently, a Congressional Medal of Honor for saving some high officers among them: General Philbrick in Mogadishu, a couple of Purple Hearts, and then a Bronze Star in Cuba, together with another couple of purple hearts," he said.

Ben´s medals were still in his pack. Once he was proud of them. Now he almost felt sick when everyone told him what a hero he was. He sure as hell didn´t feel like one.

"I´m willing to draw a blank slate over this AWOL business, and reinstate you as a sergeant on the TN security detail. As such, you´d have your own house, but since those are in short supply right now you´d have to bunk in the main barracks, because I do believe the Shannon house is a little crowded right now. So do you accept?" Taylor asked.

"Yes sir," Ben answered.

"Good. You´ll be in command of second and third squads under direct command of Lieutenant Washington here," Ben saluted Taylor and then turned around and saluted Washington who saluted back.

"Right. Then you go get yer stuff and then report to the quartermaster at the barracks to get your uniform and equipment," Taylor ordered and Ben saluted and turned and left the office.

"Great! Now all I have to do is figure out a way to tell Jim and Liz," he thought.

He KNEW they would NOT be happy about his decision to join the military again, and he didn´t want to put them through anymore pain because of him. He had seen it in their faces when he left for the Academy, and then for Somalia, and finally for Cuba. But here in the prehistoric world, there were no wars to fight, so he figured it wasn´t so bad. After all soldiering was all he knew. Of course, playing on his fiddle couldn´t get him an income, and he didn´t want to live on Jim and Elisabeth. He decided to go to the barracks first and get himself acquainted with the place.

As he was about to enter the barracks, he saw that young soldier from the day before, the one that had stared at Maddy. The boy stopped and looked at him suspiciously.

"Excuse me sir, but this area is restricted. Military personnel only," he said.

"Oh me? I´m a new recruit. I´m looking for the quarter master," Ben said questioningly.

"It´s the first door to the right," the soldier said, and looked as if he had been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

"Thanks. By the way, what´s your name, kid?" Ben asked.

"Corporal Mark Reynolds, Mister Shannon right?" Reynolds asked in return.

"One of them at least," Ben answered.

"See you later I guess," Reynolds said now, with an awkward look in his face and marched off.

Ben entered the barracks and knocked on the quartermaster's door, it opened to reveal a rather short and stocky man similar to a dwarf from those twenty first century movies about some ring or something.

"Are you the quarter master?" Ben asked,

"THIS is the quarter master's room and THIS is the quarter master's door, so OF COURSE I must be the quarter master and THAT is the quarter master's dinner getting cold," the quarter master said with a hard gravel-like voice. Annoyance was clearly in his tone as he pointed to the plate of food at the table behind him.

"I was ordered to report to you by Commander Taylor," Ben said.

"Aha. Taylor radioed you´d be dropping by. Well, sorry for my lousy mood Sergeant. If I don´t eat, I get cranky. Quartermaster Vincent Cronkite," he said and gave a salute, which Ben returned.

"Sergeant Ben Shannon," he replied it felt strangely good.

"Well let´s see. I´m supposed to outfit you with a uniform, combat armor, side arm and a room befitting your rank," Cronkite said, and led Ben to the supply room, where he started handing over the mentioned equipment and later showed him to his room.

"Here we are just sign for it and the gear," Cronkite said.

Ben did as he was told, "Thanks. I´ll be back later this afternoon I need to get some things first," Ben said.

"Sure thing sonny," Cronkite replied.

"Oh, and could you get the files on whatever subordinates I´ll be having?"

"No problem," Cronkite answered

As Ben left the barracks, he heard a gunshot coming from the direction of the command center and ran over.  
When he got there he saw one dirty man being wrestled to the ground by Jim.

As Ben got closer, some soldiers came over to where Jim was pinning the man to the ground, and helped him hoist the man up and secured him.

As the dirty man were taken away, Ben saw Jim talk to the commander who approached him. As Jim and the commander got into a rover, the male officer Ben now knew as lieutenant Guzman walked up toward Ben.

"What was that about sir?" Ben asked.

Guzman shrugged, "Carter? He´s a sixer" he answered

"Sixer?"

"You´ll be briefed at eighteen hundred hours about that. Aren´t you supposed to report to the barracks?"

"Already have, sir. I´m on my way to the house to pick up my things."

"Then get to it Sergeant."

"Yes sir," Ben said as he saluted.

Ben went straight to the house and entered. He found, to his relief, that it was empty. He quickly picked up his pack, "I hope Jim doesn't do anything stupid, as Liz will have her hands full freaking out about me," he thought as he left after a last look

When he returned to his room at the barracks, he quickly changed into his uniform, strapped his side arm to his thigh, and turned and noticed the files he requested on a small table. There were two corporals under his command. One was a very promising female corporal named Anna Reilly, and a male corporal by the name of…..He just couldn´t help but start laughing.

"This is too good to be true," he said to himself as the name and picture of Marcus Reynolds was there on the pad. He stared at the name when there was an alarm sounding through the barracks. He jumped up and ran out of his room and out of the barracks nearly toppling Cronkite.

"Hey watch it," Cronkite hollered after him.

Well outside, he saw other soldiers running towards the main gate.

"What´s all the commotion about soldier?" he yelled at a soldier with red orange hair with a small balding spot on the top of the head.

"Sixers at the main gate!" the soldier yelled back.

Ben ran toward the main gate where he found chaos. He could see the tower guards firing their sonic cannons at some big walking fang factory of a dinosaur….Big and ugly bastard. But that was not what had him worried. What worried him was the presence of two shabby looking rhino rovers standing inside the gate, and there were people pouring out of them….People with weapons. They did NOT look like soldiers at all, they looked more tribal. Their clothes were dirty and unkempt, and they were pointing their weapons at the soldiers of Terra Nova.

Ben could also see civilians, and knew if there was a firefight, they could potentially get caught in the crossfire. He could see Elisabeth, Maddy and Zoe trying to hide behind a market stall with corporal Reynolds right beside Maddy, He concentrated on the matter at hand, and drew his pistol and pointed it at the enemy. He was quickly flanked by several other soldiers, likewise pointing their weapons at what could only be these Sixers . He could hear Taylor talk to a stern, but beautiful dark skinned woman, with tribal braids in her long hair.

"She looks like an Amazon," he thought.

"Lower your weapons, Mira," Taylor said.

"You first," Mira countered.

"You´re outnumbered," Taylor growled.

"Then what´re you afraid of?" Mira taunted.

"What do you want Mira?" Taylor snarled this time.

"We want our man back," Mira answered.

"Look, we know he´s in your brig," she continued.

"How do you know that?" Taylor said tauntingly.

"Maybe we still got a few friends left in Terra Nova?" Mira answered.

"Maybe I´ll have a sit down with Carter and talk about some of these friends," Taylor said.

It all almost went downhill at that point as a Sixer raised his weapon and shouted, "WE WANT CARTER YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Sonic and pulse rifles were raised and pointing in all directions until both Mira and Taylor calmed things down. It was then that Ben noticed Jim standing beside Taylor a few meters. Of course, Jim noticed him too, and they both raised an eyebrow at each other.

It seemed Taylor and Mira had come to an agreement. She wanted Carter some meds and ammo. Taylor agreed on everything but the ammo,at which Mira replied, "Can´t blame a girl for trying."

After that, Jim came over to Ben, and his face did NOT look happy.

"WHAT THE F..?" Jim started but stopped himself ,as they now noticed Elisabeth, Maddy and Zoe coming at them. Worry etched in their faces.

"Ben, I thought you were through with the military?" Elisabeth asked angrily.

"Well Commander Taylor sort of re-instated me, Liz!" Ben answered sheepishly.

"And WHEN did THIS happen?" Jim growled at him.

Elisabeth turned her focus on him now, "And why where YOU out here with a Gun in your hand Jim?" she asked.

"Well,Taylor sort of asked me to become the new sheriff of Terra Nova," Jim answered equally as sheepishly as Ben,  
and they both cringed as Elisabeth stared at them with anger, but most off all disappointment in her eyes.

Taylor walked up to them. He couldn´t say he was envious of the two Shannon men being lectured like that. Maybe he should have talked it over with Shannon's wife BEFORE hiring either man?

**Well that's chapter 4 finished I´d love some reviews on what you all may think**

**Thanks Ayziks for beta and thanks doctor Anthony for advise and I do advise you all to read both their work And having talked with doctor Anthony there may soon come little surprise in the following chapters for those off you that have read doctor anthony's work which BTW I do recommend that you read! **


	5. Welcome to Paradise

As Taylor watched both Shannon men get berated by the much smaller but no less fierce Doctor Elizabeth Shannon he did NOT envy them he had to stifle a chuckle as both Jim and Ben started to look like as if they wanted to sink through the ground.

Though as much as this was enjoyable Taylor needed to speed things up and get the supplies Mira wanted so she and her people could be out of here, he didn´t like having them here threatening his people.

"Hey Doc, I´m sorry about interrupting the family debate but could you help with the meds?"

With a this is not over look at Jim and Ben, Elisabeth turned to Taylor,

"Yes off course" she said.

Elizabeth was still fuming as she was overseeing the nurses packing the iso-biotics into a box with some other medicine.

"Sorry you had to get mixed up in that Doc" Taylor said to her, Elizabeth almost jumped with surprise.

"Could I please ask you to be careful with my husband and brother in law?" she pleaded,

"I mean you hiring them is between you and them, and I understand you may need such men as them …but I´m the one who stays up worrying for them, and this family have been through so much pain lately", she continued.

"Don´t worry Doc, they look like they can handle themselves" Taylor said,

He had to admit this was one hell of a woman; he already had some degree of admiration for this family from what he'd read about in their files, they'd managed to stick together as a family despite all the crap the world had thrown at them …unlike his own family.

After the problem at the gate Maddy decided to take Zoe home, as they walked away she turned around and found that the young soldier had disappeared, that he had been there so close and unarmed other than with a knife to protect them in danger almost made her swoon.

As she looked around she saw her dad and uncle arguing no doubt about Ben re-joining the military and her dad becoming sheriff, who made it sound like one of those old western movies.

She knew Ben had been a soldier and the scars in his face and other places that he had most likely been wounded in combat, she had seen his medals she understood he must have done some brave things to earn those, yet he never spoke of the wars, she remembered her parents worrying about him, she knew war was a terrible thing indeed from what she´d read about it.

Plus it was this that they refused to even mention their father, her grandfather, all she knew was that he had also been a soldier. Maybe he died in some other war? She decided to check on that on her plex?

Maddy wondered if that handsome young soldier had been in a war yet….."WHAT is wrong with me? I can´t seem to get him out of my mind!" She thought.

"I thought you were through with the military, Ben?" Jim asked angrily.

"OH YEAH? What about YOU then Sherriff?" Ben asked annoyed.

"OH NO YOU DON´T! DON´T you DARE turn this around on me little brother, I accepted so I could help keep both Terra Nova AND our family safe", Jim practically growled

"I had the same reason, and here is not the best place to have this argument Jim", Ben said

"It´s what I do Ben, being a cop is what I am" Jim said.

"As being a soldier is what I am Jim, You´re losing the high ground here, big brother" Ben shot back.

"Don´t go into military mode with me Ben" Jim said half-heartedly,

He knew his argument was getting weaker after all he couldn´t stop Ben from doing what he wanted, he just didn´t want to have to worry about him like when Ben was in Somalia or Cuba, Jim felt as if he was failing his brother again, but he understood why Ben would do this and was proud off him for it.

Mira watched as the two men argued, she couldn´t hear what they were saying but she could clearly see the resemblance, she approached them casually.

"You two are new here right?" she asked almost teasingly.

The two men looked at her and there was a hint off a nod from the both off them.

"Welcome to paradise" she said mockingly at them.

After the sixers had gotten what they wanted they drove off, and the soldiers calmed down significantly, Ben went back to the barracks, he met Cronkite just outside,

"Cronkite, could you summon corporals Reilly and Reynolds? I might as well get acquainted with them" he said.

"Yes I´ll do just that Shannon", Cronkite replied and followed him in.

Ben went to his room and finished unpacking, he examined his knife and put it on his table, then he picked up his fiddle and looked at it with affection, he played a few notes on it and adjusted the strings somewhat, it felt like ages since he played on it but the feel of it was still familiar in his hands as he played a little tune from the magic flute which was an ancient opera, Elizabeth, Maddy and Zoe loved this piece.

A knock on the door brought him out of his daydream; he put the fiddle down and opened the door to reveal a young good looking woman in uniform,

"Corporal Reilly reporting as ordered sir" she said while standing at attention and saluted him,

"At ease corporal, please enter" he said, and let her in.

"Corporal Anna Reilly, It says here that you´ve been trained as a demo expert?" he asked.

"Well it´s more off a hobby sir" she answered.

"Some hobby! But with these sixers I guess there aren't many dull moments?"

"No sir, there aren´t" Reilly answered,

At that moment there was a knock on the door again,

"Yes?" Ben answered

The door opened to reveal Corporal Reynolds who when he saw Ben looked at him wide eyed,

"SHIT! He´s my new CO?" Mark Thought, as he stood at attention,

"Corporal Reynolds reporting as ordered, sir" Mark said and saluted, he could feel a little knot in his stomach as those steel grey eyes looked at him.

"Well that´ll be all Reilly your squad has the late shift tonight so I expect to see you and your squad ready for duty in forty minutes, dismissed" Ben said, as Reilly saluted and walked out to let Reynolds in.

"At ease corporal" he said to Reynolds who put his hands on his back but still looked tensed, even though Ben felt a little mischievous enjoyment at making him squirm he decided to cut the kid some slack.

"Corporal Marcus Reynolds top of your class in the US youth academy, then were recruited to Terra Nova and came on the fifth pilgrimage at age fourteen" Ben said as he went through Reynolds file,

"It says you were enrolled at the academy at thirteen, just after the death of your grandfather right?" he asked,

"Yes sir" Reynolds answered, with a barely noticeable wince.

"You were recruited by Commander Taylor personally in 2144 the time of the fifth, so you didn´t serve in the Youth corps then?"

"No sir" Reynolds answered.

"Also you are apparently quite skilled in hand to hand combat, AND can handle a knife very well, that´s quite a résumé for someone so young".

"Thank you sir" Reynolds said stoically.

"You´re welcome Reynolds, and thank you for coming despite your night off" Ben replied.

Ben's com beeped "Shannon" he answered into it,

"You´re needed at the command centre sergeant" the voice of Lieutenant Washington said in the com,

"Be there in ten" he replied,

"Well corporal, you´re dismissed for tonight" he said to Reynolds who seemed to have calmed down significantly and saluted before turning to leave.

Later when Ben got to the command centre after having sent off Reilly and her squad on their patrol of the compound he noticed there was a lot off commotion as he approached and found Jim arguing with Elisabeth over which off them should go with Taylor.

"What´s going on?" he asked as he walked up to them

"It´s Josh, he apparently went outside the gates in to the jungle" Jim said with both anger and worry in his voice,  
Ben felt a knot in his stomach, "Why the hell would he do that?" he asked Jim who looked away guiltily.

"Sergeant I need you to stay here with lieutenant Okuda" Taylor ordered,

"Yes sir…but?" Ben asked unsurely,

"No buts sergeant" Taylor shot back with a stern voice that did not allow for any objections.

Then Elisabeth and Jim started arguing again over who should go with until Taylor silenced them both,

"THAT'S ENOUGH BOTH OFF YA RIDE WITH ME!" Taylor roared.

The convoy moved off as Ben stared after them.

Mark had first intended to go back to his room, when he met sergeant Cronkite with an even more severe scowl on his face than usual, they sued to call him sergeant sourpuss behind his back since the man simply would never smile.

"Damn those dumbass kids always sneaking out" Cronkite growled mostly to himself,

"What´s up sarge?" Mark asked, as Cronkite turned his scowl at him,

"Some stupid kids took a rover and snuck out AIN!" he growled,

"Which ones?" Mark asked, still politely,

"The usual suspects plus one of the new arrivals that Shannon kid",

Mark felt his spine practically freeze at the thought off the eldest Shannon daughter out there in the jungle.

"Which Shannon kid?" he asked worriedly,

"Josh Shannon I believe, the commander and both parents just went out to bring them back".

At that Mark was off running towards the command centre, as he got there he nearly crashed into Sergeant Shannon who was on his way down the stairs, with a face that made Mark think of a thunder cloud complete with lightning's coming out of his eyes though there was also worry in his eyes, Shannon didn't seem to take notice off him as Mark ran passed him and into the office, where he found lieutenant Okuda watching the screens.

"Anything I can do sir?" he asked standing at attention.

"Reynolds aren't you supposed to be off duty?" Okuda asked in surprise.

"Yes sir but I heard what happened and came to see if there´s anything I can do to help", Mark answered.  
"I met Sergeant Shannon on the way up" he continued.

"Yeah he´s pissed that his nephew went OTG and his brother and sister in law decided to both go as well to look for him" Okuda said, looking at Mark, "Actually there could be something you COULD do" he continued eyeing Mark thoughtfully.

"Yes sir anything sir" Mark answered,

"I need someone to go and check on the remaining Shannon kids, and make sure they are alright, sergeant Shannon wanted to, but he's on patrol just in case the sixers try anything now with the commander and Wash OTG", Okuda said.

If Okuda didn't know better he could've sworn Reynolds eyes just lit up.

"Yes sir, I can do that" Mark said and saluted and then turned around and ran out.

By the time he got to the Shannon house he had slowed down to walking to catch his breath, He didn't want to be out of breath when talking to her.  
Mark knocked on the door and after a few moments it opened and the eldest daughter looked up at him with those beautiful eyes,

"Hey" she said. Again Mark felt as if his knees were going to betray him.

"I just came by to make sure everything was okay" he said and scolded himself "Off course it´s NOT okay she may lose her brother and her parents are out there as well" He thought angrily.

"We haven't heard from the convoy yet" and again he gave himself a mental smack, as he saw her eyes starting to moist, "But it´s probably only a matter of time before they find them, and bring them home safe!" he continued reassuringly, he saw she began to calm down somewhat, but he still felt like a moron,

"Look if there's anything you need just let us know" he said and turned to leave,

"Don't go" she blurted out with a hint of desperation in her voice that made his heart ache, he turned back and faced her,

"Yes?" he asked,

"Could you please stay, because Zoe is scared" she said adding the last part quickly,

Mark looked down at the little girl Zoe that didn't look scared, though she did look up at the other girl and looked worried, it was more likely the elder girl was scared, Mark could see it in her eyes as she seemed to struggle to keep the tears he could clearly see in them.

"Alright" he said calmly and smiled at her, he felt he wanted to keep her safe from all the troubles in the world, "What the hell is wrong with me?" he thought.

"Please come in" she said, Mark thought it was the least he could do was keep them company.

"I´m Mark Reynolds by the way" he introduced himself.

"Maddy Shannon, it´s actually short for Madelyn but everyone calls me Maddy because Madelyn feels a bit too formal" She rambled,  
Mark found that awfully adorable when she does,

"Well my full name is Marcus but I prefer to be called Mark" he said

At that they both seemed to blush.

Zoe could never understand why grownups behave like this; she had seen how her parents acted together, so why didn't Maddy and this Mark act the same if they liked each other?

But Zoe decided she liked Mark, he looked nice, Maddy had said he looked cute and even gorgeous which to Zoe was a grownup word, Zoe was glad that he came by because Maddy even though she tried to hide it looked scared, Zoe didn't know about what but she loved her older sister and tried her best to cheer her up, but now Mark was here, And now they both were just standing there and staring at each other so Zoe decided to act,

"Do you want to see my dinosaurs" she asked and looked up at Mark who looked at her and smiled warmly.

Zoe took their hands and led them to hers and Maddy's room and showed her stuffed dinosaurs to Mark, soon however Zoe fell asleep and Mark and Maddy walked out into the living room where they talked about everything, Maddy was worried that Marcus or Mark would get bored by her rambling but he showed no hint off being so, rather the contrary he seemed to get more interested when she sprouted a bunch of facts about what she knew.

Mark talked about his life in the TN security and the life he had before coming to Terra Nova, when he mentioned his time in the Youth academy she seemed to freeze,

"Something wrong" he asked,

"My uncle, Ben was in this Youth corps" she answered,

"Most of the soldiers here have been in the Youth academy; Commander Taylor personally recruited most of us",

"How come you were there" Maddy asked, but immediately regretted asking as Marks eyes turned a hard grey and for the slightest moment he looked as if remembering something painful, had she offended him somehow?

"My grandfather died when I was barely thirteen and since I had no other relatives I was enrolled in the academy" he answered,

Maddy felt a pang of pain as she looked him over, she knew whatever Ben painful past Ben had it was mainly because of the Youth academy and the wars he had fought in afterwards, "But Mark is so young he cannot have been in a war yet" she thought as the tears that had been suppressed earlier started to sting in her eyes, she could almost imagine Mark with the same set of scars in his handsome face as Ben had.

Mark saw her eyes starting to moist again when he mentioned his academy days and his grandfather dying.

"Crap I was supposed to make her feel better NOT worse" he thought annoyed with himself.

"But I guess I was lucky the commander recruited me" he said quickly and smiled at her,

"But what about you, you seem very gifted" he asked which earned him a shy smile in return,

She started talking of her school years, until they heard the front door open and saw her parents and Josh and Ben together with Commander Taylor standing outside.

As the family reunited Mark shook hands with Mister Shannon and received a hug from Doctor Shannon who thanked him for checking on her daughters, after which Mark left the house together with Commander Taylor and Sergeant Shannon he could literally feel the sergeant's eyes bore into his back.

"Good that you checked on the daughters, Okuda told me" Taylor said, Mark just couldn't wait any longer,

"Sir how do you court a lady" he asked, and turned towards Taylor.

Taylor looked absolutely flabbergasted and Sergeant Shannon made a bunch off half choked sounds.


	6. Old Friends

**So this chapter was edited by doctor anthony so a BIG thanks to doctor anthony**

As if Ben didn't have enough on his mind with Josh running off, not to mention Jim and Elisabeth getting angry about him joining the TN security and above all meeting that bastard Smythe after all these years.

And now THIS! Ben just KNEW it had to be Maddy this young punk was referring to about courting, he simply huffed to himself, as the commander got over his initial surprise and looked at Reynolds a smirk starting to form on his lips.

"Anyone in particular you're referring to son?" He asked, Now Reynolds started to blush all over.

"I…err…" Reynolds started. By now Taylor's smile was impossibly wide.

"Well speak up son" Taylor said with a very amused tone,

"Well sir, it's Madelyn Shannon" Reynolds finally stuttered out.

"_The boy is certainly brave, ESPECIALLY with the girl's uncle right beside us_" Taylor thought as he saw Ben Shannon in his peripheral vision, he wasn't looking directly at Reynolds but Taylor knew the man had heard what Reynolds said, he could see the man tense.

"I better get back to my patrol sir" Shannon said with a salute to Taylor and started off,

Reynolds seemed to calm down somewhat, but then Shannon turned around,

"Oh Reynolds, we'll have a TALK in the morning about this" he said with an ominous tone.  
And it was all Taylor could do NOT to start laughing, "_Poor kid, he'll be having a rough ride courting this girl_" he thought amused, as he told Reynolds how to best court a lady. Taylor saw Reynolds almost as a son and sometimes he wished he was his son rather than….

The rest of the patrol went rather well, even though he was still in denial that Maddy had actually caught the eye of that Reynolds kid, though he understood he shouldn't be angry at him for it, "_Maybe if I got to know him better BEFORE I judge him_" he thought as he walked beside Reilly.

"Reilly, how well do you know Reynolds?" he asked in a casual tone, at least he hoped it was.

"He's dutiful, and by the book, a good man sir" she answered,

"How is he around women" Ben asked,

"I wouldn't know sir since I've never even seen him with one" Reilly said and chuckled, "we actually thought he preferred guys instead", she said awkwardly.

"Excuse me?" Ben asked,

"Well you know sir it's a small community and Reynolds is sort of a favorite among the girls here but he's never shown any interest in any of them" She replied.

"Thanks anyway corporal, you turn in and get some rest" he said.

"You´re welcome sir" she said and walked toward her room.

Ben walked into his room and undressed, he smiled when he thought of how Jim would react to the fact that his little girl wasn't so little anymore, at least he could make sure that Reynolds wouldn't be like the ordinary soldier who usually takes advantage of girls.

He fell asleep easily, but the nightmares returned as they usually did, once again he was in that small house in Somalia with all those butchered women, Smythe and one of those Phoenix thugs had already walked out, he saw movement on a nearby table, it was a young woman, he walked up to her fumbling for his canteen and tried to get her to drink, all of a sudden her hand came at him and scratched him in the face.

"Why?" she asked faintly and then closed her eyes in death.

Ben sat up in his bed and wiped the sweat from his face, he looked at his watch, it was just six O'clock in the morning, at seven thirty he was supposed to review his squads and report to Lieutenant Washington for a short OTG mission to a relay station just outside the fence.

He got up and looked at himself in the mirror and remembered the dream as he watched the set of three parallel scars that went from his right brow over his right eye down to his cheek his eye had not been damaged as he had closed it reflexively when the woman scratched him, her dying word still echoing in his mind,"Why?".

He dressed in his uniform, except his jacket and went for a quick run around the compound, at least something he could enjoy here as it allowed him to clear his mind and get more familiar with the settlement. When he got back he showered and then dressed in his full uniform and checked his watch it was still a few minutes until seven O'clock, he stepped outside and met corporal Reilly and he saw Reynolds coming out from his room further down the hall, they both stood at attention and he nodded at them and then walked into the bunk area where both squads was still catching Z's, apparently some from Reynolds's squad had gone directly to some bar and had come back somewhat drunk the night before, Ben understood the need for some soldiers to unwind like that, even though he frowned heavily upon it personally thanks to his own experiences.

Ben checked his watch it was nearly seven, he turned to Reilly and Reynolds with a slight smirk on his face,

"Wake them up" he ordered, he knew well the necessity to drum in discipline into soldiers and keep it that way, no one ever said being a soldier was glamorous. Reilly hit the bugle button.

As the men got up, some with a few grunts and groans thanks to hangover from the night before.

They stood at attention as he walked down the line of both squads,

"What a bunch of apes" he said disapprovingly at the bleary eyed look most had, especially those that had clear signs of hangovers.

"Reilly, Reynolds, I'll be reporting to Lieutenant Washington for assignment, I want both squads outside the barracks and ready when I return" he ordered.

"Yes sir" they both said.

Ben marched quickly to the command center, just as he was about to walk up the steps to the main office he heard a familiar voice calling his name,

"Ben, Ben Shannon?" Ben turned around with a faint smirk on his lips,

"Kono?" he blurted out before standing at attention as he noticed the lieutenant's insignia on the man's uniform,

"Ah at ease Bennyboy" Kono said with an embarrassed look in his face,

"When did you get recruited?" Kono continued,

"Came with the tenth sir, but I wasn't actually recruited sir" Ben answered, as they both walked up the steps to the office.

"How so?" Kono asked, and Ben gave a short version of the events leading to his family coming to Terra Nova which had Kono laugh out loud,

"YOU mister BY THE BOOK Ben Shannon not only broke military protocol by going AWOL but you also broke several laws to get here?" he said laughing, but when he heard the reason for it all he frowned,

"Good, at least that your family is out of that hellhole," he said approvingly,

"I'll go and catch up with Jim, Liz and the kids as soon as I've made my report" he continued,

As both men entered the office, Ben stood at attention but Kono simply waved at Washington, apparently Taylor was out,

"Hey Alicia" he greeted with a mischievous smile which earned him a slight scowl from Washington before she turned to Ben.

"At ease sergeant" she said,

"Your assignment has been changed though this is strictly volunteer duty", She said,

"What ma'am?" he asked,

"I will be leading this morning's survival training with all the newcomers and I'll need a few more soldiers for security, I've already drafted a few men from your squads including Reynolds" She said with a smirk at Ben's barely audible groan.

"I'll do it ma'am" he said.

"Good I want you at the main gate at O eight hundred hours, dismissed" she ordered.

After Ben had left and Kono had submitted his report, Washington turned to Kono,

"I heard you two outside, and how do you know the Shannon's if I may ask?"

"Me and his brother Jim have been best friends since kindergarten, and Ben and I served together as you know in Somalia but also in Cuba" Kono answered,

"And what about this sergeant Smythe?" she asked, and Kono's face darkens.

"Scumbag of the age?" he asked, anger in his features,

"I saw them outside the day before and there seems to be a lot of bad blood between them, it seemed as Smythe was taunting him!?" she answered.

"And Ben didn't kill him?" Kono exclaims with a mixture of surprise, rage and humor in his voice.

"I've gone through both of their files, and other than them serving together and Smythe was convicted of rape there is nothing", she said,

"Though there seems to be some files that are classified on both of them", she continued.

"I don't think I should say anything unless the commander orders it, the Shannon family have been through enough pain as it is", Kono said apologetically and left abruptly.

Washington stared after him, surprised at what he said and the way he almost snapped at her.

When Ben got back to the barracks both squads were standing at attention, some still with clear signs of hangover in the hot summer sun,

"Okay, it looks we'll be part of the guard detail for this morning's survival training, so I want those of you that will be volunteering for that to step forward", Almost half of Reynolds squad stepped forward together with most of Reilly's plus off course the two corporals in question.

"Okay, I want everyone in combat gear in exactly five minutes, the rest can clean the barracks" he ordered, as the soldiers marched quickly into the barracks to get their gear, Ben went and got his combat gear and also strapped his knife on his back, since it was too big for his thigh.

As they got to the gate, there were already a number of civilians waiting among them his nephew and nieces, Maddy and Zoe waived at him and he nodded to them, Josh was his usual grumpy self but nodded as well.

Lieutenant Washington showed up at nearly eight and the training could begin, Ben prowled around the civilians with his squads all spread out and occasionally giving a helping hand, he saw Reynolds kneeling down to help Maddy light a fire and every time they accidentally touched she was absolutely glowing at Reynolds, "_Why couldn't she fall for some geek that'd crap himself every time me or Jim looked at him?_" he thought miserably, though what he had read and heard about him, Reynolds seemed a good kid, Ben had read the briefing about those courting rules and he approved of them, but he still needed to talk to Reynolds, "_Jim is going to SHIT when he finds out_" he thought.

At the lunch break Ben approached Reynolds,

"I'd like to know what your intentions are regarding my niece Reynolds?" he said and held back a smirk as Reynolds tensed.

"Strictly honorable sir and I will not start courting in earnest until I get permission from her father" Reynolds said nervously,

"You DO know that the hardest nut to crack is always the father right? Ben said, in the corner of his eye he could see Maddy looking at them,

"Just so we're clear, whatever temper my brother has it is NOTHING compared to mine plus I have fought in two separate wars", he continued, Reynolds looked even more nervous.

"But as long as you behave completely honorable, you'll have no problem with me is that understood soldier?" he asked.

"Yes sir" Reynolds answered,

"Good then what are you waiting for soldier? She's waiting for you" Ben said with a smirk,

As Reynolds turned to walk up to Maddy Ben added; "Oh Reynolds? You STILL have to ask permission from her parents, except from that I expect you to follow the rules of courtship to the LETTER!"

"Yes sir" Reynolds said with a salute and actually looked happy.

The rest of the survival training went rather well though Ben DID have to contain his smirk when Washington showed the class about eating grubs.

Afterwards as Ben had some free time he decided to go see Jim and Elisabeth when he came to the house he could hear laughing coming from inside, when he got in he saw Jim and Kono talking and drinking coffee,

"Well I told ya Jimmyboy, you have absolutely nothing to worry about" Kono said before noticing Ben, "look here he is, back from the mornings arduous guard duty," he said theatrically,

"It wasn't that bad", Ben said stoically,

"I heard you ran into an old friend at the command center yesterday?", Kono said,

"Old friend?" Ben asked,

"Smythe" Kono replied, at that Ben's eyes darkened

"He's NOT a friend" Ben retorted,

"Just what I meant, I'll make sure he behaves", Kono said,

"I can handle Smythe sir", Ben shot back

"Something I'm missing?" Jim asked.

"Nothing at all Jim" Ben snapped.

Elisabeth came out of the master bedroom, and when she saw Ben her face lit up,

"Ben, we haven't seen you since yesterday?" she asked,

"I was busy getting settled in the barracks" he answered, and smiled as Zoe barrelled in nearly crashing into his legs, Ben caught her and lifted up on his hip as she hugged him.

"Uncle Ben Uncle Ben Uncle Ben" she gibbered.

"Yeah that's my name don't wear it out giggles" he laughed and kissed her forehead.

At the sight of this Kono laughed as well, "_Good thing his family have been here for him_" he thought as he remembered when he together with his unit under the command of Taylor had found him sitting in the middle off the dead bodies of the rest of his platoon and Ben staring at nothing.

At that moment the door opened and Maddy came in and turned at the man behind her,

"Thank you for following me home mister Reynolds" she said with a beaming smile,

"My pleasure, Miss Shannon" Reynolds said with an almost equal smile.

At that Jim looked up, "Isn't that the young boy that was in the house the other day?" he asked suspiciously, which made Maddy blush and again looked awfully like a tomato.

"Yes daddy", she said, trying to reel in her blush,

"Maddy's acting really silly" Zoe piped up. By now Ben was struggling at keeping his laughter back, Jim just looked at him obliviously which caused Elisabeth to start laughing.

At that moment Maddy saw Kono, and ran into him,

"Uncle Kono" she squealed and hugged him,

"Wait a minute now this can't be little Maddy, last time I saw you, you were in diapers", which made Maddy giggle,

"And if she gets any prettier she'll be dangerous" he stated chuckling,

"_She already is…potentially to a certain young soldier_" Ben thought with a raised eyebrow at Maddy who suspected what he was thinking and started blushing again.

**And also thanks to Doctor Anthony for letting me borrow the character Kono Lao which you can read about in "New beginnings and reunions".**


	7. Birds

They had talked for while when Ben's com beeped and he was summoned to the command center for new assignment.

"Sorry guys I need to go" he said and turned to leave but Jim put a hand on his shoulder,

"You just look after yourself now little brother" Jim said and smiled which Ben returned faintly.

"Trust me Jimmyboy I will" he retorted teasingly.

Jim and Kono talked about old times, they hadn't seen Kono ever since he got recruited to go to Terra Nova.  
"I can't remember Ben actually joking around this much" Jim said with a smile,

"What do you mean?" Kono asked,

"Mostly all we saw him do at home was just nod, except with the kids, who seemed to get an actual smile out off him now and then" Jim answered,

"Kono, ever since he came back from Somalia he was more like a ghost, the military simply called it the Somalia syndrome" Elisabeth said worriedly

"I really shouldn't be the one to tell you, I don't know the hole story but all I can say is that it was chemical weapons" Kono sighed.

This made Jim and Elisabeth gasp, especially Elisabeth that also looked furious.  
"But chemical Warfare has been illegal since the 20th century?" she asked angrily.

"Tell that to Axis psi ops" Kono answered with a grimace.

As her parents and Kono talked Maddy was using her Plex to hack into the Eye, she knew it was forbidden even illegal, but she HAD to know why Uncle Ben was so tight lipped about his past,  
when she hit a lot of encrypted files;

-AUTHORIZATION GENERAL RICHARD PHILBRICK ONLY-  
After fruitlessly trying to hack Ben's core files she found some pictures from his earlier life, one was a police picture taken when he was a little boy, he looked beaten and bruised, in the corner it was written; DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM, Maddy was absolutely shocked at what she read that Ben and her dad's own father HER GRANDFATHER had beaten both of them and their mother and the last time their father had apparently killed their mother and nearly beaten Ben to death, tears started welling up in her eyes at the thought of this.

But this couldn't be all there was so Maddy kept searching.  
There were lots of pictures of when he was enrolled into the academy and when he graduated, she recognized a few that the family had kept but then saw some of what was apparently his early service in Somalia, there were some of him and boys from his unit even one where he was decorated for bravery by saving some general, but then she saw a picture of him with bleeding eyes and a blank look, as if he was crying tears of blood, she couldn't look more and terminated the connection.

Ben went back to the command center, he took a short detour through the market to buy something to eat, when he got there Wash was on the radio,  
"Lieutenant Okuda, do you read?" she said with worry in her voice.

"Something wrong, ma'am?" Ben asked.

"Lieutenant Okuda's team was delivering supplies to outpost three they were supposed to have checked in by now" she answered.

"Should we go out and look for them? " He asked.

"No but if we don't hear from them in two hours we'll have too, they had a flat tire last night so they may only be a little late", she answered.

"Well I'm here for my assignment ma'am" Ben said standing at ease.

"Yes, relay station five is frizzing again take three soldiers and go check it", she ordered.

"Yes ma'am" he said and turned around and left

Ben ate his late breakfast on the way to the barracks, when he got there some of the soldiers were lounging about with seemingly nothing better to do.  
"I need three volunteers, to go with me to relay station five" he said, "Dunham, O'Mara and Jackson, you three make perfect volunteers, grab your gear and meet me outside in five minutes" he ordered.

The men groaned but did as they were told, while Ben got his gear in his room.  
When he came out the men was ready and they all marched off to the motor pool.  
They signed out for a rover and went on their way out the gates,  
Ben's first OTG were going to be interesting, when they got to relay-station five they found a dead nykoraptor laying outside the door.

"Looks like it's been pecked to death by birds or something" Ben said after examining it.

As they searched the area, and Dunham and Jackson examined the damage to the relay there was a sound from the nearby trees, Ben scanned the tree line suspiciously,  
"What was that?" Dunham said nervously,

Ben turned to his com unit,  
"This is Sergeant Shannon at relay station five to Terra Nova, over?" it took a few seconds before the radio crackled to life and he could hear Lieutenant Washington's voice,

"This is Terra Nova, how's the damage?"Wash asked,

"The antennae seems trashed and we also found a dead Nyko at the door, seems to have been pecked to death by birds or something" Ben Answered.

"Can it be fixed?" Wash asked, Ben looked questioningly at Dunham and Jackson who shook their heads.

"That's a neg Lieutenant; we'll need some more equipment for that", Ben answered.  
In the command centre Wash was still talking to Shannon when both Commander Taylor and Sheriff Shannon walked in with grave news that Lieutenant Okuda's team had been ambushed and killed by unknown assailants.

"There any teams out there today Wash?" Taylor asked, she nodded

"Yes sir, Sergeant Shannon's out there with a small team to fix relay station five", she answered

"But he says they'll need more equipment apparently the antennae are a total loss" she continued.

"Is he still on?" Taylor asked, Washington handed him the com,

"Sergeant Shannon you still there?" Taylor asked,

"Yes sir", came the reply.

"Anything else to report, son?"

"Other than a dead nyko that looks like it's been pecked to death by some birds, then no sir", Ben answered.  
Then all of a sudden there was some loud shouting in the background then followed by discharging of sonic rifles.

As Ben was talking to the commander O'Mara came running out of the jungle screaming and trying to get off something that was clinging to his helmet,  
"GET THIS FUCKING THING OFF OF ME!" he shouted, Ben let go of the com and ran over to him and grabbed what looked like some small reptile with wings, Ben broke its neck with little ease and removed it from O'Mara's helmet.

"Relax O'Mara, you scream like a girl" Dunham taunted.

"Shut up, and keep your eyes on the tree line instead" Ben snapped at him,

Then all of a sudden there was loud screeching from the jungle, after that a pack of those reptiles came flying at them.  
With little else to do they started firing of their sonic rifles; finally the birds relented and flew off.  
Ben then grabbed the com,  
"Sorry about the delay sir, we had a little bird trouble", Ben said into the com.

"Everyone alright?" Taylor asked.

"A few cuts nothing serious sir, though O'Mara may need a fresh pair of shorts", Ben stated to a mild laughter from the others except O'Mara who scowled at them.

"Fix it as soon as possible sergeant, I don't want any teams getting killed like Okuda's team got last night", Taylor said

"What happened sir?" Ben asked

"You'll be briefed on that when you return sergeant, Terra Nova out", Taylor said and cut the com.

It took a couple of hours until new equipment arrived, and the work could finally begin except for a few screeches the birds didn't come back.

"I remember that screeching from last night" Jackson said, "He he maybe them birds got spooked when O'Mara blew a fart? They can be really loud not to mention very smelly" he continued, to laughter from Dunham.

"Fuck you Jackson" O'Mara retorted angrily,

"Ok, THAT'S enough" Ben said but couldn't help smirking as well at their bantering.

It was getting dark when they finally got back inside the gates, after dismissing the men Ben went straight to the command centre, when he got to Taylor's offices the commander turned to him,

"What was that about birds, sergeant?" he asked

"Some pre historic birds got spooked and decided to try and attack us, but we scared them off sir" Ben answered, "Nothing all that dangerous sir, and we got the job done" he continued,

"Lieutenant Okuda and his team got killed last night" Taylor stated,

"What, how?" Ben asked,

"We don't know yet, I've suspended all long range OTG missions, until we can figure out who or what killed lieutenant Okuda and his team" Taylor explained,

"I want more perimeter patrols, I want half our squads on this, and I want your squads on standby sergeant" Taylor ordered,

"Yes sir, we'll be ready" Ben declared.

"Good tell your men to rest up, everyone is to stay in the barracks unless there's an emergency" Taylor ordered,

"Dismissed sergeant" he continued,

"Yes sir" Ben acknowledged, saluted and walked out of the office, he hit his com,

"Reynolds, Reilly" he called into the com, Reilly answered almost immediately, Reynolds took a while longer than that,

"Round up your squads and get them back to the barracks ASAP, and then report to me" he ordered,

Reilly came in first and knocked in Ben's door,

"Enter" he said, and Reilly stepped in, "No Reynolds yet?" Ben asked, Reilly simply shook her head,

"We'll give him a few more minutes then, shall we?!" Ben said, and decided to strike up a conversation just to make time go faster,

"So what were you doing before you came here?" he asked,

"I was in the youth program since I was sixteen sir" Reilly answered with a surprised look in her face,

"I was too, I heard Taylor managed to get a lot of kids out of that shit" Ben said,

"The commander requested soldiers from the program specifically, other than Lieutenants Washington, Guzman and Lao and a few others almost all the soldiers came out of the youth program sir" Reilly said.

They continued to talk like that for about twenty minutes until there was a knock on the door.  
"Enter" Ben said, and Reynolds came in,

"WELL Reynolds, I'm sorry to drag you away from your busy schedule" Ben said annoyed,

"Sorry sir, I was helping someone" Mark excused himself,

"Well anyway we and both squads have been placed in standby, for guard duty, and all of us are to rest up and be prepared for anything" Ben said,

"AND, above all we are to stay IN the barracks" he finished with a hard look on Reynolds.

The day went uneventful, as security waited for a possible attack, sixer or otherwise that never came.  
That night as so many nights before the nightmares came, only this time the russo-chinese soldiers did not turn into his dead comrades, they instead turned into his family, he was standing in the Shannon house and they were all around him…..DEAD, him with his bloody knife in his hands, suddenly Jim raised his head and stared at him,

"I should have figured you'd become like dad Ben" he said accusingly,

"Why did you kill us Ben?" Elisabeth asked,

"I thought you loved us, Uncle Ben?" Maddy cried,

Now Josh and Zoe stood up as well, they also opened their mouths to speak but instead off words a high pitched shriek came from them.  
Ben woke up panting, sweat soaking him, the nightmare was gone but there was still shrieking going on…a LOT off it, he got out of his bed and walked out in only his boxers and a t-shirt, it seemed many of his squads had also heard the shrieking and were looking tiredly out of the windows,  
There were dozens of those birds outside all over the fence some were even sweeping down over the barracks, Ben ordered the soldiers to grab sonic weapons and took one himself and opened the door to the barracks and started firing into the air at the birds other soldiers that were passing by did the same until the birds flew off,

"Could it have been these that killed Okuda's team?" He thought he checked his watch it was almost four in the morning; he got his comm., and called the command centre,

"Sergeant Shannon to command over?" He called; it didn't take long for him to get an answer,

"This is Taylor; I was just about to call you sergeant" Taylor answered,

"Sir, there was just an attack by those birds that attacked me and my men at the relay station yesterday, we managed to drive them off" Ben said

"There's been more attacks son, they attacked the sheriff and his son outside the Shannon house-BUT don't worry they are both alright and being checked at the infirmary, I need you to start gearing up your squads, I want at least one of them at the main gate and the other at the infirmary" Taylor said,

"Yes sir" Ben answered, and immediately called over Reynolds and Reilly,

"Reilly, Reynolds both your squads are to be prepped and ready for action, Reilly your squad will patrol at the infirmary, Reynolds your squad will patrol near the main gate and the market"

"Yes sir" both answered and started getting their squads ready.


	8. Malcolmus

**Thanks to doctor anthony for proof read and input and I strongly recommend reading his story New beginnings and reunions.**

When the squads were ready Ben sent them on their respective duty, after which he first went to report to command, and almost bumped into Maddy and Zoe,

"Well hello there girls, you know you shouldn't be out right now" he said, he noticed that Maddy looked at him sadly,

"Maddy what's wrong?" he asked her worriedly,

"Oh nothing, nothing at all Uncle Ben" she answered dejectedly,

Ben was going to say something when there was that familiar screeching again, Ben looked up and saw hundreds of the pre historic birds come swooping down at the market, Ben reacted and ushered the girls towards the nearest building which was the infirmary,

"Get inside and stay there" he shouted and turned and drew his sonic pistol, and fired randomly into the swarm to keep as much of its attention away from the girls as he was running toward the market.

When Elisabeth saw Maddy and Zoe come running into the infirmary she waved them over,

"What are you two doing here, I thought you were…" she started when she also heard the screeching noises from outside, she turned to Maddy

"Get into my office and shut the door, now" she commanded, Maddy did as she was told and shut herself and Zoe inside her mother's office.

After the attack, as Elisabeth went out into the market with her staff to start helping anyone hurt by the attack with Maddy and Zoe beside her, she could see both girls was shaken, she saw a soldier and waved him over,

"Could you please go and escort my daughter's home?" she asked, and the soldier smiled,

"Why off course ma'am, it will be my pleasure" the soldier said with a British accent, Elisabeth smiled thinly to him and went about her business.

"Well shall we go then, ladies?" he asked to Maddy and Zoe, who started following him to the house,

When they got to the house, Maddy felt to thank the soldier that no doubt had more important things to do,

"Thank you sir it was nice off you to escort us home" she said and blushed as she didn't know his name,

"It was my pleasure miss Shannon" he said and smiled,

Maddy looked at him a bit worried he might have been considered attractive if it wasn't for the scars in his face,

"What's your name?" Zoe asked innocently,

"Nicholas Smythe, but you may call me Nick, young lady" Nick said with a smile at them,  
There was something in his voice that threw Maddy off a bit,

"Well I'm Madelyn and this is Zoe" Maddy said, she didn't say she preferred to be called Maddy but there was something she couldn't place about this soldier, off course she didn't want to judge him because his scars made her uneasy, after all Ben had scars as well, "_Maybe he's just like Uncle Ben, looks rough on the outside but nice on the inside_?".

"Well I have to be off, cheers ladies" Nick said with a smile and walked off.

Ben decided to check in on how his family had fared during the attack, as he walked up to the house he felt a hand on his shoulder and spun around with his hand on his knife hilt, only to find Josh there with his hands stretched up in mock surrender grinning at him,

"Damn it Josh, don't sneak up on me like that" he breathed out,

"Sorry Uncle Ben, I didn't mean to spook ya" Josh said apologetically,

"You didn't spook me Josh I was just surprised that's all, I was coming for a quick visit" Ben said, and smiled when Josh's eyes brightened up, and noticed Kono coming up to the house as well,

"Lieutenant" Ben greeted, Kono simply waved away the salute Ben was preparing,

"Will ya STOP doing that Bennyboy!?" Kono said pleadingly, and walked with them to the door and Josh opened it.

When they entered Josh flopped down on the couch and Ben and Kono was greeted by all but utter chaos at the kitchen counter, there were Jim mumbling something about braces and baths, and was trying to they suspected vaguely to make dinner, and then they noticed Maddy was carefully walking up behind her father looking more than a little awkward maybe even a little worried,

"Dad, how do you know if a boy likes you?" she asked awkwardly, before she noticed that both Ben and Kono was actually standing only a few feet away in FULL hearing distance and she started blushing, she started moving to Jims right side as he turned to where she had been when she asked him the question,

"You can't, he doesn't, what boy?" Jim started asking and realizing Maddy had moved turned to her,

"You're only sixteen!" he then stated, with a firm look in his eyes, and off course lost whatever control he had over what he was doing and burned himself on the cooker, at that moment Maddy decided to salvage the situation and promptly took over before her father burned the house down,

By now neither Kono or even Ben could hold it in anymore and they started laughing at Jim's bungling efforts at his obvious denial about Maddy actually asking her father about boys which both men knew was what Jim dreaded the most; His baby girl, HIS little princess growing up, even Josh smirked at the whole situation and said, "welcome back to the family dad", Maddy smiled but was still blushing extremely, Jim was simply glaring at both Ben and Kono who was still wiping away tears of mirth from their eyes, while trying the impossible task of looking innocent.

Later after dinner Jim followed both men outside he looked at them,

"You two know anything about Maddy's sudden interest in boys?" Jim asked even though he almost knew the answer,

"What do you mean?" Kono asked sincerely, since he didn't really know,

"Ben I KNOW you know SOMETHING" Jim asked, and started looking menacing,

"I think he's talking about young Corporal Reynolds" Ben answered calmly trying to keep a straight face and was failing miserably at it since this sort of situation hadn't really come up before,

"So she IS seeing someone? But she's only sixteen years old she's too young for boys" Jim almost squealed,

"Jim, remember when YOU were that age, you started dating as well, didn't you?" Ben asked matter of factually, by now Kono was finally started to wise up to the whole situation and was grinning widely,

"Well I DID say that if she gets any prettier she'd be dangerous, didn't I?" Kono asked chuckling,

Jim stared at them both in terror,  
"But...But...But?" he stuttered, Kono put a comforting hand on his best friends shoulder,

"I have spoken to the kid, and he assured me that he have only honorable intentions with Maddy, I told him it was okay BUT that he had to ask permission from you and Elisabeth before he starts courting her" Ben said calmly but with barely held back laughter in his voice,

"WAIT a damn MINUTE, you KNEW about this? And what do you mean courting?" Jim asked now getting a bit irritated,

"Relax Jimmyboy, we'll keep an eye on the Reynolds kid, though I can assure you that Mark Reynolds is as honourable as they come, Even though he seems to stumble over himself whenever he tries talking to her or even look at her" Kono stated smirking,

"It's been going on since we got here; it was he that was here when you and Lizzie were out looking for Josh" Ben explained

"WHAT?" Jim exclaimed, Had he been a cartoon character his head would have exploded, and Ben and Kono was actually worried if they might be forced to stop Jim from getting his gun and hunting Reynolds down.

The next day at the infirmary having confirmed what killed Okuda and his team earlier during the morning, doctor Wallace had already named the birds into Malcolmus,

"Malcolmus?" Jim exclaimed loudly, he had only just found out about doctor Wallace being the one recruiting Elisabeth most likely knowing full well that Jim should have been in prison, Jim was NOT happy at the concept of this little pain in the ass making eyes at his wife.

"Malcolmus?" Ben echoed as he was coming in to check on them,

"Every new species should be named by the one who discovered them" defended Doctor Wallace, this caused Ben to get angry at the man's arrogance,

"Then maybe they should be named after Okuda and his team" Ben growled, which made the diminutive scientist back away,

"Who the hell is that little bug anyway?" asked Ben and looked at Jim and Elisabeth,

Off course with his usual tact Jim filled him in before Elisabeth could stop him,  
As Jim finished Elisabeth glared at him before she turned to Ben and saw how his expression had darkened considerably, something that almost scared Elisabeth because Ben looked as if he was ready to kill someone.

"JIM" Elisabeth scolded and turned to Ben, she remembered what almost happened when Ben had found out about Maddy's ordeal at school, she had never seen what he had done when he was in the wars but she knew he was capable of killing AND that he had the same anger issues as Jim…Though with less control.

"Ben, please do not do anything rash now" she said with her calmest voice she could muster,

"No something a little rash might be good right now" Jim said with a mischievous grin, but he backed away when Elisabeth gave him an obliterating glare, Meanwhile Ben was fuming.

"SOOO, that little British bug recruited you knowing full well Jim was in jail?" Ben said with an ominously calm tone that worried both Jim and Elisabeth, because while his voice was calm his eyes had turned steel grey.

Jim's grin faded when he realized he may have taken it a bit far and decided to try and salvage the situation,

"Hey its okay Ben, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding" Jim assured him,

Then Kono came through the door to the infirmary and saw them talking,

"Hey something wrong?" he asked,

"No just a misunderstanding" Elisabeth said,

"Okay, Well Ben you're needed at the command centre pronto"

"Yes sir" Ben snapped, and immediately walked out of the infirmary and started off toward the command centre, on the way he saw Smythe come walking whistling happily, which only made Bens already sour mood go even darker, he hated the man almost more than he hated his father.

"Well hello there, Benny" Smythe said with that irritating voice of his, Ben was about to take a step in Smythe's direction when Kono caught up with him,

"Sergeant Smythe I didn't even know you were back yet?" Kono said calmly trying to defuse the situation he KNEW was already heating up between the two men,

"I got back yesterday sir" Smythe answered, in the corner of his eye Kono could see Bens jaw clenching,

"Funny I didn't see you out here when we needed you during the attack" Kono said,

"I was escorting a couple of civilians to their home sir" Smythe said,

Kono turned to Ben and saw his eyes had narrowed and watching Smythe intently as if he was measuring the distance between himself and Smythe, Kono knew that if Ben decided to do it he would try and kill Smythe or at the very least beat the living shit out him.  
In Somalia Kono had had to drag Ben off of Smythe, off course had Kono known what Smythe had done he would have killed him himself, something that Bens and Smythe's asshole CO had covered up apparently the very same CO who's nose Ben had broken In Cuba before getting injured at the battle of Guantanamo, luckily for him General Philbrick himself had stepped in and had Ben transferred to Delta Force and had the whole incident quieted down, and the CO had been sent off world, Kono didn't know who it had been since all records had been classified after even Somalia.

"Sergeant I believe I told you to go to the command centre?" Kono asked,

"Yes sir" Ben answered and started walking up the stairs to Taylor's office.

Kono then turned to Smythe, who was smiling self-assuredly,

"I don't know what kind of game you're playing Smythe, but it ends NOW, you will leave Ben Shannon alone and do NOT do anything to piss him off" Kono ordered sternly,

"But sir I must protest, I can't help that Shannon gets angry with me all the time" Smythe complained,

"Just stay out of his way Smythe, THAT'S an order" Kono commanded,

"Yes sir" Smythe acknowledged unfazed and saluted,

After lieutenant Lao had walked after Shannon, Nicholas Smythe scoffed spitefully to himself,

"_Well looks like even Ben Shannon have a weakness I can exploit, when the time comes_" he thought and stroked his fingers over the ugly scars that marred his once attractive face,

"_Still that niece of his is a very beautiful girl indeed, what she sees in that fool Reynolds is beyond me, but no matter, I could almost smell her innocence, quite the princess really_" Nick thought to himself as he started whistling again and walked off to his barracks to get ready for his assignment.

As Ben entered Taylors office, with Kono trailing right behind him, both men stood at attention,

"Good you two are here, at ease gentlemen," Taylor greeted them,

"Lieutenant Lao, you are to go to the main gate and make sure the sixers doesn't try anything, Oh Sergeant Shannon, sergeant Cronkite says you still owe him a dinner" Taylor said with a mischievous grin, Kono looked uneasy and looked at Ben,

"You came in between Cronk and his dinner? You've got some guts Bennyboy, I've seen AND heard him ream even the Commander about that" he said with a teasing grin towards Taylor, which earned him a scowl, and turned around and left,

On the way out Kono met Wash and stopped in front of her, and looked at her,

"Hey Alicia, you look good as always, up for a date tomorrow?" he asked and just now noticed Jim coming up behind Alicia,

"No but I can do the day after that" Wash answered, and yelped as Kono bent down and kissed her on the mouth and immediately ducked down as Wash tried punching him nearly hitting Jim,

"What the hell you think you are doing Kono, I said before NOT while we are on duty!" she growled even though both Kono and Jim could hear she wasn't all that angry about it, but Kono decided to play with it!

"Hey Alicia you treat all your boyfriends like this?" he said jokingly as Wash and Jim was about to enter the office,

"As a matter of fact…YES!" she snapped without any anger at all in her voice without even turning around.

As Wash and Jim entered they found both Ben and Taylor watching her and smirking which made her give them both an obliterating glare which made even Taylor turn away,

"Well now, let's get back to business" he said and gave them their duty assignments,

"The Sheriff and I will be ready to move out as soon as Doctors Shannon and Wallace are finished making that hormone thing to lure them birds away from the colony, as of right now the colony is under lockdown, all civilians stay in their homes protected by at least one soldier per home"

"Yes sir" Wash and Ben said,

"And sergeant after you have deployed your soldiers I want you to keep an eye on the bar, Boylan has been whining about those birds ruining his hooch" Taylor added.

"Yes sir" Ben answered,

Ben saluted Taylor and quickly left and ran to the barracks, where he caught Reilly talking to a few soldiers or rather giving them a dressing down,

"Reilly, Where's Reynolds" he said as he got the duty roster and started signing in which soldier was going to be where,

"I don't know sir, I think he may still be on patrol" she answered,

Ben was about to send her to her assigned area when realized her shooting him glances when she probably thought he wasn't looking,

"_Well she IS a damn good looking woman_" Ben admitted to himself,

He was interrupted in his thought when Reynolds came running, Ben glared annoyed at him,

"Just where the hell have you been Reynolds?" he asked with more heat than he meant, Reynolds stood raptly at attention and saluted,

"Reilly I'm placing you to guard the Infirmary, Reynolds You've got the bar with me" Ben said, and was about to send him off,

"Who's guarding the Shannon house, sir" Reynolds blurted out which earned him a death glare from Ben,

"NOT your concern CORPORAL" Ben growled at him, and then he saw Reynolds looking all miserable,

"Aw hell" he whispered, and turned towards the duty roster again,

"Oops! Looks like I made a little error here, Reynolds YOU get your ass over to the Shannon house and relieve Jenkins and tell him to get his sorry ass over to the bar" Ben ordered Reynolds who looked puzzled at him,

"WHY are you standing here looking like some mute freak…Move it MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT!" Ben practically yelled at Reynolds, who beamed at him,

"Thank you sir, I'll send Jenkins over to Boylan's bar then?" Reynolds said,

"Are there any more bars in this place?" Ben growled and stared at Reynolds, when he heard a slight giggling sound beside him and looked at Reilly who was almost red with trying to hold back her laughter, Ben narrowed his eyes at her,

"Both of you just do as I say right now or so help me I'll give you something to yell about, and Reynolds you say anything about this to anyone I'll clock you out no matter WHAT Maddy says about it now MOVE IT MOVE IT!" he rambled out in one long angry sentence, needless to say they both took off running,

Mark was happy about Sergeant Shannon changing his mind like that,  
"_hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the ass later, ah what the hell Maddy Shannon is worth ANY punishment_" Mark thought as he ran over almost doing cartwheels towards the Shannon house and Maddy.

As she was running Anna Reilly thought to herself "_He is awfully cute when he gets angry, I wonder if he gets enough sex? I haven't seen him with anyone; I sure hope he's single!_"

After having sent away Corporal Reilly and the unusually inquisitive and not to mention OBVIOUSLY lovesick Corporal Reynolds to their tasks, Ben was about to run over to the bar when he heard a laughter from the barracks and turned around and saw Cronkite standing there holding his stomach and shaking and almost crying with mirth,

"WHAT?" Ben asked,

"I've only seen that look of his work on Wash before, and that was only barely, him and your niece seem to have YOU wrapped around their little fingers" Cronkite stated, and started chuckling again when Ben gave him a glare and turned and walked away mumbling angrily making it sound like growling,

"_Whatever power that girl has must be something to turn Reynolds so brave he actually mouths off to his own superiors, THIS is going to be a very eventful and not to mention fun year_" Cronkite thought, and continued to lock down the barracks.

Maddy had just helped her brother and father secure the windows in the house, she was more than a little disappointed that it was this Private Jenkins having been assigned to guard them, she had heard her father grumble about hunting that Reynolds kid down earlier and she had therefore gone into a sulk at him,

"_I hope Mark doesn't get into trouble with his superiors because of me_" she thought, when Mark came running around the corner said causing her to listen only half-heartedly to what her father was saying,

"You're assigned to the bar soldier" Mark said, Jim looked surprised at him as Jim had nagged Ben into assigning another soldier to the house,

"_I will be having a few words with my dear baby brother about this_" he thought annoyed,

"Reporting for guard duty sir, may I check the windows to make sure they are secured?" Mark asked him, Jim nodded and after Reynolds had gone right by Maddy after a nervous look between them both which made Jim wince as if in pain, he had noticed Maddy using make-up he had complained that she was clearly too young for that but Elisabeth had overruled him naturally,

"Hey" Maddy beamed a shy smile at Mark that he returned as he walked past her, Jim turned towards her,

"THAT'S how you know a boy likes you" he said with a defeated half annoyed tone, which made Maddy roll her eyes and gave him a beaming smile – a smile that was now also reserved for that young punk who was clearly intent on stealing his little princess away, Jim then went to meet Taylor at the infirmary pondering what he would like to do to Reynolds IF he did something Jim didn't like, and THAT was in Jims mind WIDE open for interpretation.

Ben entered the bar and was met by a man that looked to be in his late thirties and with a jolly smile on his lips,

"Evening sergeant, nice of you to drop in" Boylan said with a heavy Australian accent,

"You're Boylan?" Ben asked sternly, Ben didn't like bars, every time his father had come home from one he always beat up on Ben and his mother,

"The same" Boylan answered with a broad smile that threatened to break his pudgy face in twain,

"Taylor said I'm to help you lock down the place" Ben said,

"Yeah sergeant, excuse what's your name by the way?" Boylan asked

"Ben Shannon" Ben answered with a neutral voice, he didn't want to judge Boylan just because he owned a bar, he seemed like an okay guy though,

"Great, my name is Tom" Boylan said with another of those oily smiles.

After a few minutes Jenkins came jogging into the bar as well,

"Nice of you to join us Private, you check upstairs and I'll secure down here" Ben ordered,

"Yes sir" Jenkins acknowledged, and went up the stairs to Boylan's office while Ben turned towards Boylan,

"If those birds get in here this place is too much open for us to defend properly" Ben said,

Boylan nodded as he was putting away some of the more valuable bottles into a cupboard behind the bar,

"So you have something….NOT alcoholic around here?" Ben asked after they managed to stow away as much as possible,

"I do, mate, what's your poison then?" Boylan asked nicely,

"You got any carrot juice?" Ben asked unsurely, Boylan's face again broke into that weird smile as he reached for a bottle on the back shelf, Ben noticed it had gotten darker outside,

"One thing's for sure mate, I will NOT become rich by serving you" he said and poured up a glass, Ben tasted it to make sure it WAS just carrot juice and then let it down his throat it felt great to drink something other than water not to mention those nasty protein drinks like he had to do the first week.

Then he heard the screeching that he recognized coming from the birds,

"Jenkins, get down here NOW, Boylan you should get yourself to somewhere safer" Ben commanded and readied himself they had closed the door but there was simply too many openings in the bar to actually keep the birds out for long if at all,

"No way mate, I'm staying right here to protect my livelihood" Came Boylan's stern reply, and then grabbed his own sonic pistol from behind the bar

Jenkins came running down the stairs and joined Ben and Boylan behind the bar, it didn't take long for the first birds to swooping inside the bar, they all fired their sonic weapons at the birds, Ben noticed they preferred flying around and even landing on the beams in the ceiling,

"Fire short bursts into the ceiling" he shouted, and all three men fired into the ceiling which had the effect Ben wanted as the sonic blasts hit around where the birds were perching before dropping down they took out several birds with one blasts,

Ben's communicator beeped and he turned after making sure Boylan and Jenkins had at least adequate control of the situation,

"Shannon here, what's up?" Ben asked apprehensively into the com,

"We are ready to move out with the hormone compound, tell me when the birds start leaving" Taylor sounded from the com,

"We'll do sir…SHIT!" Ben shouted as the birds got even more aggressive and started attacking them behind the bar with more conviction, and he narrowly avoided getting pecked in the eye

"It's no use, if we stay out here we'll get pecked to death mates, and I'm out of charge" Boylan yelled,

"Me too sir" Jenkins coughed, Ben checked his rifle quickly and saw it was practically running on sparks, they had been using their weapons on high area effect to be able to even have a chance of hitting the birds, there were dozens of birds laying all over the floor,

"Boylan you have somewhere we can go?" he yelled over the screeching,

"In here lads" Boylan yelled back,

"OH NO, you have GOT TO BE KIDDING" Jenkins protested when he saw what Boylan was referring to, a large cupboard behind the bar that look barely big enough for one or two but not three men,

"It's either THAT or get killed by some stupid birds, GET INSIDE NOW" Ben shouted while firing what were the last charges from his rifle, and crammed himself in after the two others and slammed the door shut behind him.

To call the cupboard large was to Bens understanding a gross exaggeration; they barely had enough room to breathe much less move in there, his com crackled again,

"Sergeant Shannon, what the hell happened?" Taylor's voice asked,

"Sorry sir we got overwhelmed, so we had to err…hide" Ben said dejectedly,

"Okay, just stay down for now son, there's really little you can do right now anyway" Taylor assured him.

Meanwhile in the Shannon house Mark had been knocked out cold by a bird when it managed to break through a ventilation bar, and Maddy, Josh and Skye had managed to get both him and Zoe into Maddy's and Zoe's room,  
Maddy immediately checked on Mark to see how bad he was hurt,

"Please, don't let him be dead" she whimpered, she could feel his pulse was steady and sighed with relief, and checked to see if Josh and Skye needed help but they seemed to have everything under control, Maddy was worried about how the rest of her family was doing.

In the seemingly large cupboard in Boylan's bar Ben got to his com and tried calling Reynolds,

"Sergeant Shannon here, Reynolds come in" Ben called, after a while the com came to life but it was Josh's voice,

"Uncle Ben?"

"Josh where the hell is Reynolds, give the com to him" Ben commanded,

"Sorry he got knocked out cold by one of those flying lizards" Josh answered,

"Is he alright? And the rest of you, you okay?" Ben asked worriedly,

"We're okay Uncle Ben, and you?" Josh asked,

"No problem" Ben grunted as both Jenkins and Boylan decided to try and move with less than desired results,

After a couple of hours the screeching had stopped and Ben decided it was time to take a peek but found to his annoyance that the door to the cupboard had been jammed shut, no matter how he tried he could not get the damn thing open, he swore loudly,

"Looks like we're stuck in here until rescued then mates" Boylan chuckled,

"Ah, sir?" Jenkins asked hesitantly,

"What Jenkins?" Ben asked still annoyed,

"I need to take a piss" Jenkins whimpered, Ben sighed

"Hold it in Jenkins THAT'S an order" Ben growled,

"Ah, sir" Jenkins whimpered again even more hesitantly,

"WHAT?" both Ben and Boylan asked in unison,

"I think a need to go number two as well….not now but later….not too much later though sir" Both Ben and Boylan sighed.

Wash, Kono and Elisabeth were waiting at the gate when the rover Jim and Taylor had taken with the hormone compound to lure the Malcolmus birds away from the colony rolled in, and both men stepped out and looking worse for wear, after a few greetings and congratulations, Taylor was called by Ben,

"Sergeant, the birds are gone, you can come out now" he said into the com,

"Err, sir can you send corporal Reilly to help us out here?" Ben asked hesitantly,

"Alright I'll do that" Taylor said but couldn't help but wonder what sergeant Shannon needed help with and why he sounded so…out of breath.

When Reilly got the call from Taylor that her sergeant needed help in the bar she worried someone was hurt so she jogged over quickly to the bar, when she got there she couldn't find anyone but then she heard Bens muffled voice,

"Reilly is that you?" Ben asked…there was some anxiety in his voice that got her more worried

Finally she found the cupboard from where there were some faint sounds of voices,

"Sir you ALL in there?" she asked,

"Yes Reilly can you see if you can get the lock open?" Ben asked,

She did as he asked and easily got the door open and the sight that met her almost sent her into laughing fits, in the cupboard practically tangled together like some human jigsaw puzzle were Shannon, Boylan and Jenkins and all three looked VERY uncomfortable, they crawled out of the cupboard and Jenkins looked at Shannon with pleading eyes, Ben simply scowled at him,

"Go before you have another accident" Ben growled out, and then he looked at Reilly that was having serious trouble to NOT laugh like crazy, plus hold her nose as Jenkins apparently had pissed himself

"On the condition that you tell NOONE about this" Ben said,

"What sir?" Reilly asked as innocently as she could,

"Just let it out" Ben said with a groan as he stretched his aching limbs, needless to say Anna Reilly laughed so it could be heard far outside the bar, so that Kono, Jim and Elisabeth who got a little worried about Ben could hear the laughter and came into the bar, Ben wished he could sink through the floor and into the ground at that moment as he could see Kono and Jim putting the pieces together when they saw the open cupboard and Ben and Boylan standing there stretching as if they had just got out from a very cramped space.

**PHEW I finally got through chapter eight, hope you all enjoyed it folks. And a BIG thank you to doctor Anthony for proof reading for me, and letting me borrow some of his OC's (Kono Lao from New beginnings and Reunions I strongly recommend you read it because it's awesome reading)  
Also the scene when Maddy asked Jim about boys should have been much earlier so I had to rearrange things because I think that scene was needed, for that I'm sorry  
**

**Now I'd like some reviews please some good constructive critic would be excellent.**


	9. In the Shadows

**Thanks to Doctor Anthony for proof reading now that my other beta Ayziks is on vacation. But Doctor Anthony has been a real help, helping me with some plot ideas. I also have been working on some bios for my OC's Ben and Smythe which I may decide to post later on when I know they are not spoiler threats. There may be some alluding to crossover here. Well that's enough of my dribbling; now here's chapter nine.**

2149 Washington DC private dome

A collection of men and women enters a large conference room from several locations while armed guards stand outside,

"The tenth pilgrimage has gone through and STILL no word from either Lucas Taylor or Mira's unit" a man with a large cigar puffing out some smoke said,

"We need to step it up and send the Phoenix Group then" a scrawny man in a grey suit said,

"I agree and we need to do it fast, I've read the reports from the latest colonial census and it is terrible those people are completely disregarding any population laws and are breeding like crazy!" a man with a white tie said anxiously,

"Relax senator those children will be excellent for the Youth program when we take over the Terra Nova project, imagine those children will grow up in a fairly hostile environment would make good soldiers after mental conditioning off course" a balding man with white hair said in a thick British accent,

"But who shall we pick to lead the Phoenix group?" a middle aged woman asked,

"Not Commander Taylors brother, he cannot be controlled," another man piped up in a squeaky voice,

"Trust me there is no love lost between the brothers, besides he may have some success with getting through with Lucas's delusions" the man with the cigar said,

"But isn't he still of world?" the senator asked,

"He have already been recalled, and do not worry we don't need to control him all we need to do is point him in the right direction, and release him" the balding man said calmly,

"And I am sending my daughter to keep an eye on things" he continued, and an attractive woman with red hair walked in and smiled faintly,

"Thank you father, I shall not disappoint you, I am actually looking forward to take care of the children of Terra Nova" she said with the same accent as her father, and a smile that actually made a few in the room to shift nervously in their seats,

The balding man gave an almost feral grin,

"Ladies and gentlemen allow me to introduce my daughter and most brilliant student….Doctor Tashaya Radcliff" he said proudly, as Tashaya nodded.

Outer solar system military transport cruiser

In the hold still in cryo sleep a man with grey short cropped hair was slowly waking in the medic tank, he was actually excited at meeting his dear brother again even though killing more of those savages would have been a lot of fun, but meeting old Nate was something he was looking forward to, even seeing how his nephew had fared after that fiasco in Somalia, he drifted between sleep and consciousness dreaming dreams of revenge,  
a few of his own soldiers and those damn geeks had betrayed him, nearly killing him in the process, he had been laying in a medic tank full of goo healing for five months,

"_Soon Nate, we will meet again_" he thought,

The Terra Nova project had been a sort of sister project to the one he had been assigned to, but HE unlike his brother had obeyed orders from home….to a point at least though they should have used the space cruiser to bomb those savages back to the…well they were already on the stone age.

He opened his eyes slowly and peered out of the glass of the medic tank, to see some wimp in corporate looking clothes,

"Rise and shine colonel, and welcome back to Earth" the man said, the Colonel stared at him with contempt and felt a pair of hands lifting him out of the medic tank.

He stood up shakily on still weak legs because of spending five months in the tank, and felt the scar on his chest where that large arrow had been, when it happened when that native bitch shot him he felt death had been near, all he could have done was to give in, but he refused there was still so many things he wanted to do plus he refused to give his brother the satisfaction of _grieving_ for him,

He hated his brother ever since Ayani had chosen Nathaniel instead of him, and for what? Because Nate courted her, but what he was also angry at him for was because of Nate had brought his family into a potential war zone and then she had been killed, no he hated Nathaniel and his ridiculous courtship rules that belonged in the fairy tales.

"_Nathaniel dear brother I'm coming for ya_" He thought viciously to himself, as he looked at the other scars he had on his body to him every scar was a reminder that he had survived, even his broken nose was a reminder, in that particular case it was some young punk of a soldier that he himself had helped train, it had happened in Cuba he even remembered the kids name "_Shannon, Ben Shannon, yeah THAT was his name, I wonder if he is still alive or if his own stupid pride have gotten him killed yet, heck he might even be in Terra Nova I do remember that old Nate have a bleeding heart for these Youth-program soldiers_" he thought, as the medics was checking him to see if his wounds had healed properly, ever since the incident in Cuba he had changed his name to at least give his career a chance, had it not been for another soldier testifying for this Shannon a Sergeant Lao, and general Philbrick had stepped in and had the entire incident classified he would have had the soldier flayed alive otherwise.

"_LET Nathaniel live the dream only he believes in, just wait when I come there and tear it down around him_".

** Well that was chapter nine I know it was short but I promise the next will be longer as I return to the general story,**

**Oh for those off you that may have guessed the refferences NO this is NOT a crossover story so I'm only alluding and leaving out any names that may expose it!**

**Please leave some reviews oh and my heartfelt thanks to doctor anthony for letting me use his OC's Tashaya Radcliff and Kono Lao(only mentioned) and Henry Radcliff(Un named balding guy).**


	10. Troubles with dating

**Ok this chapter is where I will take a definite trip into AU country, but don't worry to quote Mira "you'll see"!**

It was a couple of weeks after the Malcolmus Incident, and Ben's humiliating unfortunate incident of getting locked inside a small cupboard and practically getting pissed on by a fellow soldier, Jim and Kono off course had laughed so hard they almost fell over, Elisabeth didn't laugh though even IF she had to struggle to keep a straight face throughout the event, and she had made Jim and Kono NOT to tell anyone about it, Jim wanted to tell just to get even for Ben not taking his side about Corporal Mark Reynolds, but relented when Elisabeth threatened to banish him to the doghouse for the foreseeable future,

All four of them were now standing in front of Commander Taylor in his office,

"We seem to have lost communication with outpost three they haven't checked in for two days" Taylor said,

"Could it be faulty com sir?" Kono asked, and rubbed a bruise he got from Ben when they were sparring before they got the call to report to Taylor,

"It could but I'm still going to there to check it out myself, together with Doctor Shannon, I'll take another soldier with me" Taylor explained,

"Beg your pardon sir, but in that case you should take a proper security detail" Kono said seriously, Taylor raised an eyebrow,

"And why is that lieutenant?" Taylor asked,

"Because you are the most senior officer around here sir, if this turns out to be nothing but a faulty com as I said then no problem what 'so ever, but STILL it could be a ruse by the sixers and therefore we risk losing you if this turns out to be an ambush, not to mention you are taking our chief medical officer" Kono explained plainly,

"I agree with lieutenant Lao sir" Ben concurred stoically,

"What is this, mutiny?" Taylor asked chuckling, "Alright I'll take except for Private Brady, I'll also take Sergeant Shannon with us, is that satisfactory, LIEUTENANT, there are after all more soldiers at the outpost?" he continued with mock annoyance,

"Well I guess so sir" Kono answered with a grimace,

"Well then, Sergeant Shannon get Brady and get yourselves geared up" Taylor said turning to Ben,

Ben saluted, "Yes sir", and turned and left the office and marched off to first squads barracks.

Jim turned towards Taylor and glared at him,

"What?" asked Taylor innocently?

"Now you got little brother as WELL as my wife out there!" he protested,

"Don't worry Sheriff, I'll bring them both back alive" Taylor said calmly,

The first squad was under Taylor's direct command, and usually were the ones to follow him when he went OTG,

Ben stepped in through the open barracks door, inside he could see the soldiers going about with various chores, some was polishing their boots or armour or doing weapons-maintenance, two was in the process of playing a game of chess, when they saw him they shot up and stood stiffly at attention,

"OFFICER ON DECK" one of them yelled, which got the attention of the rest except for the fool taking a nap on his bunk,

"At ease soldiers" Ben said and looked around,

"I'm looking for Private Brady?" he asked, almost everyone started slowly turning their heads to the man snoring on his bunk, Ben walked over and watched the man, he had a pair of earplug microphones in his ears that were connected to his tags, the other soldiers looked a little anxious after almost two months in Terra Nova Ben had apparently built up a reputation as a real hard-ass when it came to discipline, and no one wanted to end up on HIS bad side some of the soldiers were even calling him Sergeant Slaughter behind his back especially after he had Privates Foster and Curran run around the compound in full battle gear with him after he had found the two fighting over something about a debt, and EVERYONE knew why he was sometimes harsh with Corporal Reynolds and most knew the reason for this, the corporal had been late more than a few times because he had been spending time with Sergeant Shannon's niece, he was also more than a match for most in the sparring ring, even Reynolds had gotten his ass wiped across the floor more than once, plus the fact none of the soldiers had ever seen the man crack a smile,

Ben approached Brady's bunk and yanked out the earphones out of his ears,

"ON YOUR FEET SOLDIER" he shouted, Brady's eyes shot open and when he saw Ben looming over him he flew to his feet barely avoiding crashing into Ben and stood at attention,

"Gear up soldier and report to the East gate" Ben ordered and turned around and walked out of the barracks with eyes following him anxiously.

As soon as Ben left the barracks the soldiers calmed down except Brady who scrambled to gear up.

At the Shannon house Elisabeth was getting ready for the OTG when she saw Maddy coming out of her room sulking,

"I'm sorry sweetheart, this OTG was not planned but I have to go to see if there may be an emergency at the outpost" Elisabeth said, Maddy looked over to her mother and with a miserable expression,

Elisabeth understood why, it had been planned for the young Mark Reynolds to meet Maddy's parents this evening, though Elisabeth hadn't even met the young man yet she thought he was very sweet with all this old fashion meet the parents ritual, even though Commander Taylor had instituted such rules so that if a soldier wanted to be with a civilian girl he had to have the patience to go through an entire set of courtship rules, and this Mark Reynolds seemed an honourable boy,  
Maddy had been baking a lemon pie, Elisabeth wondered how she found any lemons though and had even managed to make lemonade, all those years having been at home due to a lack of social life and taking help taking care of Zoe, Maddy had become brilliant at cooking, not the life Elisabeth had wanted for her genius daughter and it was one of the many reasons why she was so happy Maddy had found such a seemingly kind young man, she already knew he had to be brave with Jim, Ben and Josh and maybe even Kono to keep an eye on him, though she DID feel that the Shannon men might be a little overzealous in protecting Maddy,

"Mom I don't even know what to wear tonight, I mean if I dress too nice he might think I'm going too fast, or if I dress to simple he may think I'm not taking it seriously and never speak to me again, and what if I babble too much like I always do?" Maddy rambled with a trembling voice; Elisabeth tried not to laugh and instead gave her very nervous daughter a hug,

"Do not worry sweetheart, I'm sure you will do great" Elisabeth said

"You know what, when we get back from the outpost we WILL plan so both I and you father can meet this young man properly" as she was hugging Maddy Josh came out of his room and rolled his eyes,

"Or maybe me, Dad, Uncle Ben, Uncle Kono or all of us will beat up on the guy if he gets too frisky?" Josh said with a bored look, at that Maddy glared at him,

"JOSH!" Elisabeth scolded her son, Josh had always been teasing Maddy but it had gotten a bit too much lately,

"Or maybe Mark will beat up on YOU Josh?" Maddy said venomously, Josh scowled at her and promptly left the house,

"Why have Josh gotten so mean lately?" Maddy asked

"He left a lot of friends in the future, and he is having a hard time readjusting to our new life" Elisabeth explained, and stood up from the couch and again smiled reassuringly

"Now I have talked to your father and told him to go easy on Mister Reynolds" she assured Maddy which started laughing,

"Since he's a grownup shouldn't he know that already?" Maddy asked still laughing,

"Well men only age as far as seven then they just grow sweetheart" Elisabeth laughed,

There was a knock on the door and Elisabeth walked over and opened it to reveal Ben standing there in full gear,

"Liz you ready to move out?" he asked politely,

"Yes" Elisabeth answered and turned to Maddy

"Maddy you father will be home soon, and again don't worry you will do fine" she said and smiled at her still nervous daughter,

After her mother closed the door Maddy went to take a shower with those products she had gotten and then she would go to her to her room and start going through her wardrobe to try and figure out WHAT to wear for her date with Mark.

Ben and Elisabeth walked to the gate where Taylor and Brady was waiting with a rover and a military dirt bike, Elisabeth got into the rover with Taylor and Ben while Brady got on the bike, and the gate opened and the team drove out away from the colony

"This is your second OTG mission Sergeant, you excited?" Taylor asked Ben as he was driving,

"Ecstatic sir" Ben said stoically while at the same time watching the jungle, he WAS interested there was something about this jungle with all its apparent dangers that appealed to him very much.

Elisabeth had never seen Ben like this he was totally different…. True he was always a little on edge but now he seemed as if his every sense was on high alert, he seemed both calm and on edge at the same time as if THIS was his true home….out in the field,

"_Was THIS what it was like for him in Somalia and Cuba_?" she wondered, and as if he knew that she was looking at him he turned his head and looked back at her briefly before turning back to scan the surrounding jungle, she wondered what happened to that little boy she comforted when his mother had just died what had happened to the young man that sacrificed his own future in order for her daughter to even be allowed to be born, a young man or boy really that got sent to Somalia where he had his innocence ripped from him and almost turned into a shell of a man….a ghost.

Later when Jim got home with Zoe from the infirmary, Zoe had apparently gotten some cold virus so he sent her straight to bed and for once she didn't even complain, Zoe barely got to her and Maddy's room before Maddy burst out,

"Daddy is this okay for a first date I mean it's not too much is it?" Maddy asked, she was wearing that pale red dress from their second day in Terra Nova,

"You look fine sweetie" Jim said honestly and smiled reassuringly at his daughter, and apparently FINE was not enough as Maddy pouted and went back to her room probably to change when she got back out after about ten minutes she had changed into a black dress that simply was way too short and appeared way too tight for his liking,

"What about this one daddy? She asked anxiously, Jim wanted to say NO, but couldn't as he remembered what Elisabeth said before, "This is her first date so be nice" he remembered her saying,

"You look beautiful pumpkin" he said again honestly even though he wanted to say something else,

"_That Reynolds kid BETTER be nice and keep his hands to himself or I'll cut them off_" he thought, then he remembered that the OTG team should be due for their first check up soon,

"Look sweetie could you watch Zoe while I go to the command centre for a while I promise I WILL be back in time to meet Mister Reynolds" he said honestly and walked out the door leaving a pouting Maddy behind, Maddy pouted for a while before she checked the watch it was at least two hours until Mark was due to arrive so she decided to put all her self-learned cooking skills to good use and start on dinner.

It was early afternoon when they finally got to the outpost, they stopped just outside the fence and realized the fence gate was wide open.

"WHAT idiot would leave the gate open like that?" Taylor grumbled, his suspicion that something was amiss only got bigger as he ordered Sergeant Shannon and Private Brady to check the surroundings for possible intruders while he entered the outpost with doctor Shannon behind him,

Ben and Brady search around until Ben found a pair of boots common to the science department with at least part of its owner still inside them, then his com beeped,

"Taylor here, Shannon have you found anything?" Taylor's voice queried

"Yes sir! I may have found a pair of boots that looks like the kind used by the science department" Ben answered

"So we have a scientist running around barefoot out there somewhere?" Taylor asked

"Not exactly he's still in the boots….well his feet anyway" Ben answered deadpan,

"Okay you and Brady get inside, don't forget to close the gate on your way in" Taylor ordered

Ben turned to Brady who was a few yards away,  
"Brady we're to go inside the outpost but secure the rover first I don't want to risk someone stealing it if this IS a Sixer ploy" Ben ordered,

"Yes sir" Brady acknowledged,

After having secured both the rover and the gate into the compound surrounding the outpost and into the outpost itself.

**Thanks to Doctor anthony for letting me borrow his OC Kono Lao who's story y'all can read about in New beginnings and reunions I strongly suggests you read it it's awesome!**


	11. Good intentions

**OH and a BIG thanks to doctor anthony for his solid advice and some really good input as well as proof reading this for me, so now I'm not recomending I am telling y'all to read his stories.**

**Personally I never even thought this story would be this long and to those of ya that have been reading and reviewing I give thanks.**

When Ben and Brady entered they outpost he saw only Elisabeth and Commander Taylor standing at the communications console and Elisabeth was working on it,

"Outpost to Terra Nova are you receiving" she said, and didn't notice Ben prowling up behind her, when she turned she gave a small yelp at how silent he could be,

"Sorry" he almost whispered and took a respectful step back as he didn't want to startle her more,

"No I am sorry Ben I just didn't notice you coming up behind me that is all" she apologized,

"Hey its okay Lizzie, I shouldn't be sneaking around like that" Ben assured her,

"Commander I found some files belonging to the researcher in charge here, it seems that he was researching about degenerative brain disease" Elisabeth said

"Are there any more entries?" Taylor asked

"Only that he was near a major breakthrough" Elisabeth answered

"Here is another one saying that some spores he was working on for that research accidentally got out of containment, and infected the staff and him as well, then it just seem to stop suddenly" she continued

Taylor gestured to the locked door to the next room from where Ben could hear screaming,

"So you mean that the people we just came into contact with in there may have an infectious spore?" Taylor asked with a slight worry in his voice

"Yes and we may all have been infected, including Ben and Private Brady since they came in as well" Elisabeth answered

"We may have already been infected by getting near the boots of that researcher outside" Ben interjected

"Alright I'm declaring this outpost and us under strict quarantine until we can figure this out" Taylor commanded and turned to Ben and Brady,

"Secure every exit and make sure no more people try to get away" he ordered

Elisabeth tried once again to call Terra nova on the com and this time she got through as she saw the face of her husband,

"Liz, how are you doing? I've been trying to reach you for over an hour" he said worried

"We're fine Jim don't worry, though Taylor says we need to be here for a while" she assured him "how are the kids?" She then asked

"Josh is sulking as usual Zoe is in bed….Oh and that Reynolds kid will come a courting soon, I still think he's weird" Jim stated

"No I think he is really sweet doing things the old fashion way, and Maddy seems so much happier thanks to him" Elisabeth stated

"Yeah she seems a bit jittery though; she's changed her clothes at least two or three times already….ACHOO" Jim said and then sneezed violently and Elisabeth could see that he looked sick

"Babe, are you alright?" Elisabeth asked worriedly

"Yeah I'm alright though I think whatever Zoe's got seems to have infected me as well" he stated and sniffed,

"Well you better not infect me when I return" Elisabeth said with a smile

"Okay be careful honey, I love you" Jim said

"Love you too" Elisabeth answered, after which Jim sneezed again after they shut off the coms Elisabeth turned and felt strange of what Jim had said,

"Zoe, who's Zoe?" she asked no one in particular then shook her head "_perhaps Jim was referring to some friend of Maddy or Josh?_"she thought but then she got confused hadn't they just found evidence of some form of _disease that affected the memory_? Then she remembered,"off course Zoe is my youngest daughter? _Jim wouldn't mention her otherwise" _She thought, she had vague recollections of this morning and it was getting harder to remember "_My god we HAVE been infected with whatever they were working on here_" she thought and started writing down the names of the people most dear to her on electronic paper Jim, Josh and Maddy and Zoe.

Jim got home just in time to se Maddy making the table ready for her date, Jim sighed at how much effort she had put in for everything

"_I guess I have to put on my best behavior and try NOT to embarrass her ….too much_" he thought sadly, even though he really wanted to scare the crap out of this upstart, plus Maddy seemed really taken by this kid,

"_WHY did my little baby girl have to grow up so damn fast?_" he thought, he KNEW the thought was ridiculous as growing up was part of life, he was interrupted in his thoughts by an exceedingly annoyingly polite knock on the door, "_This just HAVE to be mister Reynolds_" he thought as Maddy came running or rather bouncing with excitement and first stopped in front of the mirror in the hallway and he noticed that she had changed her clothes….for what must be for the third or possibly the fourth time, "Baby girl don't worry you look beautiful" he said reassuringly ….again.

Maddy smiled at her father and walked over and opened the door, and there was Mark Reynolds not in uniform but more casual clothing, and just as handsome as ever, Maddy felt butterflies in her entire body when he smiled that impossibly beautiful smile of his.

Mark knocked politely on the door and hoped he looked presentable, he could hear muffled voices from inside one of whom must have been from Jim Shannon, Mark was really nervous about meeting her parents sure her Mother was nice but he still felt jittery about her father, finally the door opened to reveal Maddy Shannon, she was dressed in a grey dress over a orange red blouse and her hair was falling down straight over her shoulders, he felt knots in his stomach, he smiled at her,

"Hi you look beautiful Miss Shannon" he said with as steady a voice a he could,

Maddy beamed that incredibly beautiful smile at him that made his knees almost buckle under him,

"Hello Mister Reynolds, why don't you come in?" Maddy said still smiling at him,

Mark stepped inside and came face to face with Jim Shannon the man was slightly taller than him, and he was glaring sternly at him, Mark swallowed and extended his hand,

"Mister Shannon it's a pleasure to meet you sir, I am Mark Reynolds" Mark introduced himself, Jim took his hand and shook it,

"Mister Reynolds" he said sternly, and put a little more pressure than may have been necessary,

Maddy was struggling not to wrench her hands as her father shook hands with her….well not boyfriend not yet anyway, praying that her father wouldn't do or say anything to scare Mark away, she almost for a few seconds thought she saw Mark grimacing as her father was squeezing his hand.

At the outpost Elisabeth felt worry with the potential effect from the virus, and looked around for her husband and saw him standing with his back toward her, she felt relieved and quickly walked up behind him he seemed as if he hadn't noticed her, one thing she wondered over was why he was in uniform, "_Jim have never been in the military_?" she thought confused as she walked as he was turning around and took hold of his face she was in too much of a hurry to notice the scars in his face and the fact that this was NOT her husband,

"Liz what the….MFFH?" Ben didn't have time to say anything else before Elisabeth pressed her lips against his, Ben DID love her but it was as the wife of his brother, more like a sister, true he had always thought her beautiful but STILL he did NOT think of her in any other way than as a sister-in-law, there was absolutely No attraction there, but it WAS embarrassing nonetheless….VERY embarrassing.

He gently but firmly pushed her away and held her by her shoulders,

"LIZ what the HELL?" he asked confused at her behavior,

For a moment Elisabeth stared at him in horror and not a little embarrassment as she blushed,

"OH GODS Ben I'm so sorry I thought you were Jim" she said embarrassed,

Elisabeth was really confused and embarrassed, "_WHAT was I thinking?_" she thought

"It's okay Liz it was an honest mistake, it happens, me and Jim do look somewhat alike" Ben assured her.

At the Shannon house after dinner Jim was watching Maddy and Reynolds talking over a piece of pie, he had to admit at a glance Reynolds seemed like a nice kid….except that he was interested in Maddy, when he shook hands with him Jim was almost about to ask if Reynolds was planning to have sex with her but decided that it may have embarrassed Maddy too much even more when Jim sneezed in Reynolds direction intentionally, and got _exiled_ to his room by Maddy.  
Later when Maddy followed Mark to the door he took her hand into his and brushed his lips against her knuckles which made her blush heavily and had to fight to keep from giggling, but she DID swoon just the same at Marks chivalrous behavior, while her father scowled at him,

"I hope the evening was satisfactory Miss Shannon? Mark asked politely

"It was Mister Reynolds" Maddy replied and beamed at him, he smiled back

Kono had gone on an errand to the orchards when he met up with Corporal Mark Reynolds coming from the general direction of the Shannon house and decided to have a little chat with the boy that was _wooing_ his niece, Kono had after all grown up together with Jim and Ben and all three were close he didn't see them as brothers to him they WERE his brothers and their family was his family, and he would do anything to defend it,

"Hey there kid, how was the date?" he asked as casual without sounding too obvious, but Reynolds who was whistling happily stopped dead in his tracks and looked almost as if he was about to jump out of his skin,

"I….err, It went well sir" Reynolds answered nervously,

"Relax kid, I'm not gonna bite ya" Kono said calmly and Reynolds seemed to calm down a bit

"BUT if you break my nieces heart, I'll hunt you down, I'll give you 5 minutes to get OTG and then I'll be after you with nykoraptors baying for your blood" Kono said even more calmly, Off course he wouldn't actually kill Reynolds but he WOULD give him a good beating if he ever hurt Maddy in any way or form, "do we have an understanding?" he continued sternly which caused Reynolds straightened up,

"Sir I would hunt myself down rather than hurt Maddy Shannon" He said confidently, Kono smiled

"That's good kid, and if you can survive my brothers and me you deserve her, but always take care of her" Kono said, "You see she never had a good life back in the future always getting harassed at school, never had any friends, we never learned of any of it, When Ben found out I heard he almost went _Jason Voorhees_ on the principal" at the last part Kono could see the boy clenching his jaw in anger Mark Reynolds never had a good poker face his emotions shone right through,

"She told me weeks ago at the survival training" Mark said angrily,

"She was afraid of _showing off_ before the class during the survival training so I told her that she should be proud of her abilities" He continued, Kono was surprised at the last part and decided to test the boy,

"I know she can be very talkative all the time, but I hope you have no problem with that?" he said

Reynolds smiled, "Sir I love it whenever she talks facts that I have to look up, that someone can know and learn so much, she told me she was called a _know-it-all_ in the future which is a ridiculous insult since NOONE can know everything, Maddy is simply a genius and I am truly humbled that she could actually be interested in someone like me, and I intend to declare my intentions to her parents as soon as I can meet with them both" Reynolds rambled out,

"_WOW this kid have spent too much time around little Maddy, he's starting to sound like her, but he respects her and that is all I need to know….for know at least_" Kono thought with a smirk,

"There's nothing wrong with you Reynolds, well ya got my approval at least, and I know you got Ben's approval all ya need now is Jim's approval" Kono said and started to leave but turned around just as Reynolds was about to walk to the barracks,

"Oh Reynolds, she loves flowers….exotic ones" Kono stated, Reynolds face lit up at that

"_THAT kid is head over heels in love with our Maddy, and I do believe the feeling as mutual_" Kono thoughtand walked off towards the command centre and the love of HIS life.

At the command centre Alicia Washington was for a lack of a better word bored out off her mind, Kono had gone on some errand and had left her all alone to silently go crazy of boredom,  
She glared at the screens as they flickered between security cameras as if to mock her,  
she understood why Reynolds never liked this sort of work which was why she assigned him to watch duty as often as possible to keep him away from OTG missions ….and to annoy him,

"_I guess this is a punishment for having Reynolds do this so many times_" she thought frustrated

Suddenly there was a quiet knock on the doors to the office and she turned around just to have something else to do only to find Kono standing there with both hands behind his back and smiling innocently which was all but completely out of his character, she put her arms on her hips and looked at him suspicious,

"What is it Kono?" she asked semi-seriously

"I've got something for you" Kono said with that sparkle in his eyes that she had come to love so much and she almost felt a little giddy, he always managed to get her emotions that she normally could control go into a raging storm,

"What are you hiding behind your back Kono" she said cursing inwardly at forgetting the formality, they WERE after all on duty,

"What you mean….this one?" he said innocently and showed her his left hand it was empty,

She looked at him and frowned, "what about the other hand?" now she was getting curious,

"Well THIS is what I got ya babe…I meant Lieutenant Babe" Kono said jokingly and showed what was in his right hand, Alicia's eyes almost popped out at the sight of the bouquet of beautiful yellow flowers her favorite color, Kono stretched his hand with the flowers forward,

"Beautiful flowers for the prettiest lieutenant in the world, past or present" he said lovingly,

"Oh god Kono I never…." Alicia croaked out and took the offered flowers and smelled them, and then looked around for something to put them in and found the pitcher of water that stood on Taylors desk and put the flowers in it, and then turned to Kono who was still smiling innocently at her, then she checked the date in the screens and smiled back at him,

"You remembered our anniversary?!" she exclaimed happily, Kono and Alicia had been dating ever since Somalia on and off but it wasn't until Kono was recruited after the Cuban campaign that their relationship had took off in earnest she looked at the ring on her left finger

*Flashback*

Mogadishu Somalia 2137 (almost three months before Heartbreak valley)

Kono was sitting at the bedside of his adopted baby brother Ben, he had been injured barely a week into his tour nothing too serious just a bullet in the shoulder and another almost taking his hear clean off which had to be repaired ,  
the little moron had a tendency to get himself into trouble, Kono could remember all the times he and Jim and Elisabeth had been called to Ben's school whenever Ben had gotten into trouble either it was fighting with other students or getting hurt for showing off in gym class,  
after hearing that Ben's unit was being sent to Somalia Kono had volunteered for duty there as well to try and keep him safe….well as safe as he could be in a warzone,

A soldier came into the infirmary, Kono turned around and stared at her she had almost pitch black hair bound up in a simple ponytail he could see the field medic insignia on her shoulder pad, she came up to the bed where Ben was laying and checked on his readings and then looked over at Kono,

"Are you his CO?" she asked deadpan, "I've seen you sitting and watching him for days now as if you're afraid he'd disappear or something" she continued

"No I'm his foster brother, and I promised I'd look after him" Kono answered

"You look like you're ready to drop soldier, come on lets go grab a bite to eat" she said

"I'd rather stay here, I'd like to be here when he wakes up" Kono said getting a little annoyed at why this however pretty but annoying woman,

"I could make it an order you know corporal?" she said sternly

"Besides there is nothing you can do right now anyway since he will most likely be out until tomorrow, and you won't help him if you drop because of fatigue" she stated matter of factually,

Kono got up after a last look on Ben's sleeping form, "I'll be back Bennyboy….I promise" he said and turned to the field medic, "My name is Kono Lao by the way" he introduced himself,

"Sergeant Alicia Washington" she replied,

"Aren't we formal?" Kono asked,

"Yes" Alicia said smirking

"_This is going to be a drag_" Kono thought miserably, as he followed her to the kitchen

"I'm a field medic with the 34th by the way" Wash said

"Marksman with 31st" Kono replied.

*Flashback ends*

Alicia would cherish that memory always when she met this grumpy soldier at the bedside of his adopted brother,

She again looked at her Promise/soul mate ring on her finger that Kono had got her; they've never had time to marry properly so Kono had come up with the rings,

"Thank you lover" she said teasingly

Alicia after having put the flowers into Taylor's water pitcher she approached him and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, and laughed inwardly as Kono looked less than satisfied and moved forward, and before she could react to it he had her in his arms, she fought a bit as his lips pressed against hers but relented and responded to the kiss instead and after a few short moments deepened the kiss.

Jim had decided to check in with command and see if there was any new development on the outpost and his wife and brother, he climbed the steppes of the stairs that led to Taylor's office and could hear muffled voices….TOO muffled,  
As Jim entered he saw Kono and Wash in what he could only describe as an intense make out session, he was about to turn around and leave but remembered why he came and just stood there hoping they would notice him, but they didn't seem to so Jim cleared his throat….perhaps louder than what was necessary, as both Kono and Wash snapped out of their embrace and looked at him,

"Did I come at a bad time?" Jim said grinning, trying desperately to stifle his laughter, as Kono and Wash glared at him especially Kono who looked like he was ready to punch Jim, and Wash tried to control her blush,

"No not at all, sheriff" she replied with a shaky voice,

"What is it Jim ….I mean sheriff?" she corrected,

"I was going to check on the outpost, but if you two want to be alone I could come back in twenty minutes?" Jim queried and snickered as Kono glared at him,

"No problem Jimmyboy, just go ahead" Kono said

"Thanks, I'll do just that" Jim replied and walked over to the com unit but turned around

"Oh and nice flowers, they go perfectly with the ring" Jim stated, both Kono and Wash stared dumbfounded

"How did you know?" Wash asked

"Well that kiss you gave her a couple weeks ago was pretty obvious, but most obvious was the flowers that wasn't there earlier today not to mention the nearly identical rings" Jim rambled out going into cop mode, which made Kono laugh

"Well shucks Jimmyboy, and how did Maddy's date go then?" Kono asked changing the subject; he always hated when Jim went cop on him, and looked at Alicia smirking.


	12. Fleeting Memories

**Warning ANGST ahead!**

At the outpost Elisabeth got the call from Jim,

"How's it going Liz" Jim asked

"Very well babe" Elisabeth replied still a little shook up about mistaking Ben for Jim

"Well Zoe is in bed and I DIDN'T embarrass Maddy too much with her date" Jim explained the evenings events, Elisabeth smiled at the view screen,

"Good to hear, I need to be signing off now so I can work, see you tomorrow, love you" Elisabeth said

"Love you too babe" Jim replied, Elisabeth threw a kiss at him before breaking contact,  
Then she wondered how Maddy could be having a date at her young age, "_probably a play date_" she thought, and then

"Who's Zoe?" she said to herself completely puzzled

The next day Elisabeth woke up and went to her improvised work station, after having completely humiliated herself by kissing Ben she tried avoiding him, it WAS a mistake true but it felt really awkward nonetheless, he was after all only seventeen and still in that awful military school, she also realized she had forgotten her wedding ring after the surgery the day before, now she couldn't remember WHAT she was supposed to do at the work station…."_OH yes that virus_" she reminded herself and went to work,

"You know I don't think of you any other way than as a sister, do you Liz?" Ben's sudden question startled Elisabeth,

"Will you PLEASE stop doing that?" she said annoyed, "Off course I do" she then continued more calmly,

"Good cause I'd hate for a ridiculous misunderstanding as this come in between us" Ben said adamantly,

"You're right Ben, I'm really sorry for avoiding you" she said apologetically,

"I really need to get back to work now" she apologized

"Just be careful, here take this sonic rifle and keep it close, just in case one of those rebels show up" Ben warned, Elisabeth looked at him puzzled, but didn't have time to say anything else as Ben walked off,

Ben was still wondering why the hell Elisabeth was there, but figured it was some kind of relief work,

"_She picked one hell of a time to do work in a warzone, but at least this way I can keep her as safe as safe can be, until the rest of my platoon show up_" he thought slightly confused, and continued his patrol, still surprised Jim would go along with her coming here in the first place.

At the command centre Jim was trying to contact the outpost, when that didn't work he argued with Wash and Kono about what to do,

"Calm down Shannon, if we haven't heard from them by tomorrow morning I'll send another team to check on them, the connection out there is bad anyway it may be nothing more than that" Wash said calmly but decisively, Jim didn't want to wait to the next day so he decided to take matters in to his own hands and went in search of the one person he did NOT like to ask anything from but who unfortunately had a personal rover….Malcolm Wallace,

"Look I would rather not ask you about this Malcolm, but I have no choice, I need to borrow your rover" Jim pleaded angrily,

"For what do you need my rover?" Malcolm queried, and Jim reluctantly filled him in,

"In that case I will come with you, it's just typical that Taylor would go off to a research outpost without even telling me, I am after all chief science officer in the colony" Malcolm complained,

"I can do this on my own" Jim said adamantly,

"NO I will come with you, if there truly IS a virus there what are YOU going to do? Shoot them back to health?" Malcolm asked, and Jim relented, and a few minutes later they were heading out through the gate and toward Outpost three,

Meanwhile Maddy had picked up Zoe from school and didn't look where she was going and bumped into a soldier, she started stumbling over the words as she was trying to offer an apology,

"Please take it easy precious" Nick said friendly as he smiled at her which made his face look a bit scary,

"Oh I'm really sorry I bumped into you like that, I was just worried about my parents and my uncle, I haven't heard anything from the OTG mission my mom and uncle went on and now my dad has gone too I really don't know what to do since my idiot brother has gone off somewhere as well no doubt trying to avoid his chores" Maddy rambled, Nick just chuckled and put his right hand on her shoulder,

"Please Miss Shannon you really DO need to calm down before you faint or something" Nick said calmly, "_that would be nice by the way_" he thought as he had to stop himself from caressing her shoulder, she was not wearing that lovely dress from the other day during her _date_ with that fool Reynolds, now she was wearing some cargo pants and a pink top that still hugged her figure in a pleasing way though she was apparently wearing some form of shirt or bra under it all that prevented him from seeing her cleavage, he didn't like that,  
and her hair had been hastily tied up in a loose bun on her head, as Nick had been keeping a close eye on Reynolds whereabouts and had seen her as she opened the door for that idiot, Nick felt absolutely excited at the prospect of her fainting and HE would off course be the perfect _gentleman_ and carry her home,

"_She HAS quite a mouth on her though and not very disciplined plus she clearly tried hiding the best attributes god had given her, I will have to do something about that when I claim her_" he thought again,

"Maybe I should escort you and your sister home Miss Shannon" he instead said and reluctantly removed his hand, Maddy nodded with that innocent look in her eyes that drove him almost mad with desire.  
When they reached her porch, Nick fought the desire to follow them in and bowed,

"Well safe and sound dearies, I will see you two again sometime" he smiled at them and walked off whistling to himself, at his barracks he saw Lieutenant Lao come marching in his direction and Smythe stopped as he saw no way to avoid that do-gooder,

"Smythe, what are you up to?" Kono asked defensively,

"Sir I know I did some bad things in Somalia and Cuba but I HAVE bettered myself, or at least I am trying too" he said innocently,

"What about those women in that village, according to Sergeant Shannon you and a couple of others raped and murdered them?"

"I did NOT harm those people in that village, Benjamin simply got it wrong, it was those mercenaries they forced me to watch them, I had no idea they would do those things, Shannon simply misunderstood everything, but I have been trying to tell him that I have forgiven him for what he did to me, he simply have to forgive himself, sir" Nick said again innocently,

"Soo, what about Cuba then?" Kono queried, he didn't for one second trust Smythe, though Smythe had done his duty to the colony,

"I just simply lost it sir, you were there at my trial, when I was released and sent here I decided to turn over a new leaf, Terra Nova is after all a second chance, there is not a night that goes by that I do not have nightmares about what I did in Cuba" Nick said looking miserable,

"Alright just keep out of Sergeant Shannon's radar okay?" Kono said, and Smythe nodded

"Well I can't keep you here anymore you have some sleep until your OTG tomorrow" Kono commanded, and Smythe entered his barracks,

"_I don't trust that reptile, but what if it's true? What if Ben DID misunderstand in Somalia, all I have is Ben's own _testimony_, and I'll have to look in on this even if I have to break into both their files_" Kono thought unsurely, and went to the command centre.

Nicholas Smythe laid down on his bed and closed his eyes and chuckled to himself, with Madelyn Shannon it was going to be different,  
Off course he would take her in the end but it was going to be more subtle this time, unlike all those other sluts he had met in his life, her he wanted to own body and soul, "_plus it will really irk Benjamin Shannon which is important but the REAL price will be Madelyn Shannon, claiming her and owning her and convincing her of my good intentions, now THAT will be the real price_" he thought, and then fell asleep.

Kono walked up the steps to Taylors office, it was still afternoon and the sun was finally setting after a very hot day, winters were warm and the summers even warmer, but the evenings were Kono's favourite time of day in Terra Nova,

"_Maybe I could get both Ben and Jim and the entire family to take a day off soon, we could go to the beach, yeah I could even take Alicia with me, and maybe I could get Ben off his constant brooding? At least for a day?!_" he thought

As Jim and Malcolm neared the outpost they saw some Ovosaurs chewing on what looked like some cables,

"Oh no, they are chewing on the power cables, I TOLD Taylor they needed to be dug in more deeper" Malcolm complained annoyingly,

"Why are they doing that" Jim queried,

"It has nickel in it, it's like catnip to them, come we have to chase them off before they ruin the power cables" Malcolm said and started yelling at the Ovosaurs, which ran off, they approached the entrance to the outpost

Jim noticed the other rover and walked up to it,

"At least the rover's still here so they haven't been attacked by sixers" he said, and started opening the door to the outpost

"Wait" Malcolm exclaimed

"What?" Jim asked annoyed at Malcolm's outburst

"Put this mask on, just in case there is a virus in there and it's airborne so we have at least SOME protection"

Jim had to agree with that and put the mask on, and as they entered the outpost it was quiet….too quiet and empty,

"Where is everybody?" Jim wondered, and to answer that he saw Elisabeth stepping out from behind some computer equipment,

"Hey Liz, you okay?" he queried, and was really taken aback when his wife raised a sonic rifle at him and Malcolm,

"Hey Liz what's going on?" Jim asked but didn't get the chance to say more as Elisabeth fired the weapon; the sonic blast threw both Jim and Malcolm into the nearby wall, destroying their breathing masks

"Do not move" Elisabeth said menacingly and pointed the rifle at them as they were trying to get up,

Jim removed his mask and put his hands up in front of him,

"Liz it's me put the gun down" he pleaded, but Elisabeth raised the weapon again, Jim noticed the fear and confusion in her eyes, Malcolm removed his mask,

"Elisabeth put the weapon down, please" Malcolm said and put up his hands in surrender, when she saw him there was at last recognition in her eyes

"MALCOLM!?" she exclaimed relieved and lowered the sonic rifle, Malcolm staggered up to her, while Jim stood up unsteadily and leaned against the wall, trying to figure out why the hell his wife would shoot at him and chewed on the nasty tasting root Malcolm had given him for his cold,

After a while of speaking to Elisabeth Malcolm came over to Jim with a worried look in his face,

"It would seem there WERE a breach, and a pathogen that seems to attack the memories got out and infected everyone, including Taylors team, and we have to assume you and me have been infected as well" he said despondently

"Does she know where Taylor, Brady and Ben are?" Jim asked now worried

"She does not know sheriff, most likely the others are somewhere around here in various degrees of memory loss as well" Malcolm said,

"So why doesn't she remember me then?" Jim asked annoyed that Elisabeth at the moment seemed to trust Malcolm more,

"Again she seems to have lost those memories, from her point of view she is still in medical school, and her and me have just started dating" that last part made Jim scowl at him,

"Then let's bring her up to speed then shall we?" Jim said

"Like what? _Hi honey I'm your husband OH and by the way we are in the distant past_" Malcolm asked

"It might be better that we do not tell her anything, as it may just confuse her even more" he stated

"Just keep your hands to yourself, _Malcolmus_" Jim warned, Malcolm raised his hands

"Off course I will, I will try and get some organization here and see how much help she can actually be in her state" Malcolm said defensively,

"Okay then I'll go and see if I can find Taylor and the others" Jim said

"BE careful, remember they may not even remember you" Malcolm stated warningly

"My brother will remember me at least" Jim said, and walked off in search of anyone hoping his brother would be alright,

When Jim came to a small corridor connecting a couple of labs he found Private Brady on the floor, Jim examined him and saw he had been knocked out cold, and then he heard a sound from above him and looked up and could see commander Taylor looking down at him through a glass window on the roof and pointed a sonic pistol at the glass separating them and fired it, a hail of shards were sent downwards at Jim and before he could collect himself Taylor had jumped down and had his knife at his throat,

"Don't move" Taylor said menacingly, Jim could see in the man's eyes that he also did not remember him,

"Now YOU'RE going to tell me what kind of simulation ya people are running here, this stinks of Axis psi ops" Taylor queried,

"Err sir, this is NOT what you think it is" Jim tried to explain, before someone hit Taylor in the back of his head and knocked the man out, Jim huffed out a sigh of relief and a hand was on his shoulder, he looked up to see Ben's face with the same kind of bewilderment in his eyes,

"Jim what the hell are YOU doing here?" Ben asked perplexed, Jim guessed he also lost his memories,

"Ben it's going to be okay, just come with me to the central lab" Jim said calmingly

"Terrific I have to worry about TWO civilians now" Ben said frustrated

"Just stay behind me, there might still be some hostiles here" Ben said and walked off toward the central area, Jim followed after having checked on Taylor and Brady to see they were alright.

When they got back Jim could see Malcolm was all over Elisabeth as if trying to make out with her, Ben ran at him and tore him off of her, and slammed him down on a nearby table and put his large knife at the man's throat,

"How dare you touch her? You Axis piece of shit!" Ben growled at him

Jim ran in and managed to pull Ben off of Malcolm before he could kill him,

"Ben he's one of us, just put the knife away" Jim tried to defuse the situation and scowled at Malcolm,

"And Malcolm WHAT the hell were you doing?" Jim then asked angrily at Malcolm

"Sorry I seem to have forgotten, but I'm alright now, thank you for pulling that man off me" Malcolm said relieved, and backed away from Ben who REALLY looked as if he would kill him in a heartbeat,

"You touch her again and I WILL carve you up" Ben growled at him

"Who the bloody hell are YOU?" Elisabeth asked frightened but also a bit angered

"What do you mean, _who the hell am I_?" Ben asked her confused, and Jim simply face palmed himself at apparently being the ONLY one with a full set of memories when they all heard a noise as if something just walked over broken glass, Ben jerked into action and ran off into the direction from where the sound had come from, after a few minutes he came back,

"Jim we need to secure those two other soldiers could you help me out?" Ben asked,

"_He must be talking about Taylor and Brady_" Jim thought

"Sure Ben" he then said and quickly turned to Malcolm

"And YOU join us as well…._Malcolmus_!" Jim said sternly to Malcolm, and all three men walked and carried both Taylor and Brady back and into the same room as the other researchers and soldiers,

"Maybe you should be with them Ben?" Jim asked trying to sound reassuring, but Ben looked at him with raised eyebrows,

"Me why?" he queried

"Because I think you've been infected with something that erases memory" Jim said and tried as gently as he could put his hand on Ben's shoulder, but then that fool Malcolm in some moronic attempt at impressing Elisabeth no doubt, grabbed Ben from behind and all hell broke loose which off course Jim had to now help with in order to avoid Ben really killing Malcolm this time, but now Jim found out just how strong Ben really was as he managed to shake both of them off and then grabbed Elisabeth and put his knife to her throat,

"Nice try spy, but you really should have talked things through with your lady friend here, I mean physically changing your faces to look like two of the people I trust most was a nice touch, but then the lady here fucked up by not recognizing me when the REAL Elisabeth have known me since I was eight years old" NOW Jim was frantic his own baby brother was threatening his wife, true he was trained to deal with hostage situations….but he had never in a million years (or 85 million for that matter) thought the hostage taker would be his own brother, Jim simply raised his hands in a non-threatening manner,

"Ben just don't do anything you'll regret, just put the knife down and we'll talk about this" he said he could see now in Ben's eyes a look he hadn't seen since Ben came home from Somalia he was almost paranoid that people were threatening the family, and something he remembered Kono told them the other month about Ben being subjected to chemical weapons,

"_Great he's not only having severe amnesia he's also having some relapse from whatever crap they used on him in Somalia?!_" Jim thought as he cautiously moved closer to Ben, but Ben just threw Elisabeth at him and Jim had to catch her, he safely put down his traumatized and not to mention amnesiac wife and went after Benbut not before Ben ran for the exit, opening the door and slamming it shut behind him, Jim ran over and opened it and looked after Ben but too late Ben had already taken the motorcycle that was parked outside and was now speeding off toward the colony,

"BEN….Ben god damn it!" Jim cursed, he couldn't leave Elisabeth and that idiot Malcolm now so he closed the door and went to the communication unit and tried the colony again.

Ben sped towards the direction he thought where the base of whoever was screwing around with him should be; he knew he may just have abandoned a senior officer back there,

"No worries, the Major is as tough as they come, him and that other soldier should be able to cope until I return with the cavalry" he thought and then after a few miles he had to stop dead in his tracks and stood gawking as he saw some REALLY large lizard or something, now realizing he MUST be hallucinating,

"WHAT-THE-FUCK, have they been pumping us full of?" he asked himself incredulously, and then smirked to himself and started the bike again and continued on right between the legs of this massive hallucination,

"No fucking way" he chuckled to himself

When he cleared the jungle which must have also been an illusion since this thick kind of growth didn't exist anymore, the rain forests and jungles were among the first major plant life to go extinct…."_nice touch though_" he thought.

When he finally cleared the jungle he saw what must be some base, though he wondered it didn't look like a base, sure there seemed to be guard towers but that _wall_ wouldn't keep an entire army from marching right through and not to mention tanks.

"_Could just be part of the illusion_" he thought.

At the command centre Kono had managed to crack part of the encryption that was on Ben's files, Kono had never seen this much encryption on ant soldier a Youth soldier no less….Unless it was black ops, what really made him worry was the file description it said _Male test subject at 80% capacity_ _unenhanced_,  
"_What the fuck did that mean….Unenhanced_?" he asked despondently to himself, and then he searched on and saw some vids and he could feel his own heart break at the gruesome imagery, he saw from what must have been cameras at the military outpost Ben was stationed on in Heartbreak valley, he saw Ben and the many of the other youth soldiers practically slaughtering their fellow soldiers, the name was truly fitting to Kono, now more than ever, he tried to unlock more files but found even more encryptions,

"_Good god little brother what the hell did they do to you_?" he thought.

When he got closer to the compound Ben left the bike and crawled through the _grass_ until he reached the wall and to no surprise crawled right under with no problem but not before he took some mud and smeared across his face to help darken his light skin,  
He came upon what looked like to be the largest building, and saw someone he recognized Kono, and snuck past a guard that was obviously not paying any attention, Ben was playing with the thought of killing him but that reasoned it might alert the rest of the camp if the body was detected, no better to do this quietly, and climbed up the wall of the house and as quietly as he could climbed through the window, Kono or whoever it was had his back to him, and Ben moved closer but then _Kono _turned around and his eyes widened when he saw him,

"Ben?" he gasped

Ben simply flipped his knife so that he was holding it at the tip ready to throw it,

"DON'T fucking move, I can throw this faster than you can draw that peashooter" Ben hissed,

Kono was absolutely dumbstruck,

"_Why the hell is he threatening to throw a knife at me?_" Kono thought totally flabbergasted

"Ben just calm down, what's going on, where's the others that went with you to the outpost?" he then asked.

At the Shannon house Maddy was arguing with Mark about her parents and Uncle being missing,

"Not even Uncle Kono will tell me anything, I mean what if they are hurt? What if they've been captured by sixers or wild animals?" she rambled out at a despondent looking Mark

"Look Maddy it's not the sixers alright" he said cursing himself for not being able to tell the truth

"You know something, then please tell me" Maddy pleaded and stopped her pacing and walked over to him and looked up into his face,

"Look I'm not supposed to tell anything" Mark tried dissuading anymore questions

"They are…my family Mark" she then stated and looked at him with those innocent brown eyes, Mark could see the tears in them that she was about to fail in holding back and Mark's heart almost broke, and explained to her and off course she decided to go see Lieutenant Lao about it all,

"_Well there goes my career_" Mark thought

"Ok we'll go talk to one of the lieutenants at the command centre" he said meekly as he couldn't say no to this girl, especially when she was looking so fragile with worry,

"But I need to make sure Zoe are ok" Maddy said,

"Let me fix that, wait here" Mark said and walked out of the house and saw Reilly come walking past and waved her over,

"Reilly could you do me a mega-favor?" he asked, and when she nodded a bit suspicious at him he explained,

"Sure okay, but the counter favor I'd like to ask your girlfriend" Reilly said

"What?" Maddy queried, but Reilly shook her head

"No not now but later, don't worry though it's nothing too severe" Reilly reassured,

When Mark and Maddy came up the stairs to Taylor's office they were arguing again if it was such a good Idea, and Maddy knocked on the door….no answer though they could both swear they heard something like feet shuffle about, Maddy remembered that Uncle Kono should be on jour this night,

"Uncle Kono I need to talk to you" she hollered and still nothing,

"Maddy, Reynolds, what are you two kids doing here?" queried Washington as she was coming up the stairs

"Uncl… I mean Lieutenant Lao is in there I've been knocking and everything but he doesn't answer" Maddy huffed

"Well let's just walk in and see what he's up to" Wash said calmly and opened the door and they all started walking in with Reynolds sheepishly taking the queue,

Inside was Kono and he looked very distressed when he saw them,

"Wash get them out of here NOW!" Kono blurted out tensely, Alicia could hear in his voice and in his stance something was seriously wrong here,

"Uncle Kono I want to know what's wrong with mom and dad and Uncle Ben?" Maddy demanded,

"Alicia GET them OUT OF HERE" Kono said sternly, Alicia walked towards Kono who gave her a look she had learned a long time ago to trust,

"Reynolds get her out of here now" Alicia said

"But sir all she wants is to…." Mark started before Wash cut him off,

"That was an ORDER!" Wash barked, and then she saw why Kono was so agitated as a shadow moved up behind Reynolds grabbing his right arm and pinning it to his back in what looked painful as Reynolds grunted both in surprise and pain, Maddy screamed in fright, and Mark felt warm breath on his left ear,

"You're not too good at following orders….are ya soldier?" Ben growled into his ear, and put his knife at Mark's throat, Maddy was terrified at the crazed look in her Uncle's eyes, like a cornered beast….scared, and he had come up behind them without so much as a puff of air to expose his movements, and his face was dirty, Maddy wanted to run up and tear Mark away from him but was now held back firmly by Washington, while Kono now very tensed but did not take his eyes away from Ben's he saw it too – gone was that brooding face of his replaced by raging beast, Kono AND Alicia knew if they made ONE false move and Ben would slit the boys throat and then be on them in a few seconds after that, Kono also knew just how good Ben was with the knife and now Ben was very agitated and he seemed even paranoid like he had been those first few months and out of the hospital, plus what Kono had found in that file still made him shiver,

"You're sick Bennyboy" Kono started,

"The war its over, has been for a decade, we won" he then stated, and began as slowly and as discretely as he could un-holster his sonic pistol,

"Don't you fucking lie to me Kono, I want some answers and I want them now or I'm going to start opening up veins" Ben threatened in a low menacing tone

"_What the fuck has been going on out there to make Bennyboy freak out like this, I barely even recognize him_?" He thought,

"Uncle Ben please why are you doing this?" Maddy pleaded her eyes was tearing up, at the look he gave her,

"Look honey I don't know you, and why the hell are you calling me _uncle_?" Ben asked still in a belligerent tone of voice,

"Uncle Ben I'm your niece Maddy, you've known me ever since I was a baby" Maddy stated with a trembling voice,

Kono and Alicia was about to silence her when they noticed a change in Ben's eyes and posture, but then he tensed again, and looked at Kono and the crazed look was back

"You Axis people REALLY need to get you damn facts straight, my niece is THREE YEARS OLD" Ben snarled "In that case I guess this ashole must be Josh then?" he snarled mockingly and tightened his grip on Reynolds that made the young man cry out in pain and look at Maddy,

"PLEASE don't hurt him Ben" Maddy cried out and managed to tear herself free from Alicia's grip, she was crying now as she moved forward to Ben and Mark,

"MADDY!" both Kono and Alicia yelled but they didn't dare run forward too and risk Ben killing Reynolds,

In a desire to keep Ben from going berserk, and to keep his attention away from Maddy

"Okay Bennyboy, then I'll tell you something only you me and Jimmyboy knows" Kono stated

"You me and Jimmyboy, we were all playing around in gramps old house in the basement" Kono chuckled,

"And then you found that box with those Cuban cigars, and we tried a couple, they must have been laced with some drug like chemical or something because I remember the three of us were so damn high we were practically in orbit" Kono chuckled, and was still slowly getting his side arm ready,

Ben spun Reynolds around so that he could still hit him with the knife and looked at Kono,

"You're a sergeant and that kid you're manhandling there his name is Mark Reynolds he's a corporal he IS in your unit here, AND he's sort of dating your niece, THAT girl over there" Kono said and pointed at Maddy as he saw Ben starting to waver

"_Great we're finally getting through to him_" Kono thought

Ben looked once more at Maddy still not taking his eyes off Kono and Alicia, something in him were telling him to kill the boy and then kill the others but something deeper came up to the surface a memory of Maddy coming home from school with Josh and she must have been thinking there was no one home for she was crying, she had been bullied, but he had talked to her and even played an old song on his fiddle for them to cheer her up to cheer them both up.

"M-Maddy I remember you coming home from school one day and you were crying because you'd been bullied?" he said with a trembling voice

"Yes Uncle Ben I remember too, you played that old song to us on your fiddle" Maddy said with tears coming down her cheeks,

Ben looked at her and he could remember other things as well sitting in the middle of some dead bodies with his bloody knife in his hands,

"What is this place" he asked Kono

"This is home Bennyboy" Kono answered

"This is home?" Ben asked

"You came here with your family so that you all could have a second chance" Kono explained

Ben looked at first Kono and then Maddy who nodded still with tears flowing down her cheeks but still standing dangerously close to him...dangerous for her.

After what to Maddy seemed like an eternity Ben finally released Mark and she started dragging him away and as if to protect him, Ben was still tense still ready to pounce,

"Okay, now where's my platoon what happened, I remember something about a military outpost I was sitting in the middle with my knife but I can't remember what I was doing" Ben said

"Don't lie to me Kono, where are they" he continued, he was still confused at how so many years could have passed

"They're all dead Bennyboy….I'm sorry, but we're going to help you find a way to remember" Kono said, he was now ready to draw his gun,

Another memory managed to float to the surface in Ben's mind a memory of carnage and his own eyes began watering, and he looked at Kono and Alicia and then at Maddy and Reynolds, and swallowed,

"OH my god what have I done?" he whimpered, which made Maddy look at him Uncle Ben had whimpered like this EXACTLY like this during that nightmare he had a couple of months back only now it was as if everything started to come back to him like instead of a weight being lifted from him another one came crashing down on him full force, she looked into his eyes and he looked back and she could see the shame and the self loathing in his eyes, he was one of the kindest men she knew and one of the bravest now looked like that traumatized boy she saw in his picture files from his broken childhood….yes broken was a correct word,

"Maddy I am so sorry" he whimpered almost crying, and then looked at Kono

"I don't deserve to live for what I've done" Ben said and put the knife to his throat and was about to cut his own throat but at that moment Kono's hand became a blur and his sonic pistol was in his hand on stun setting as per regulations and shot Ben who in mere seconds was about to start cutting flew backwards and into the wall, Maddy screamed again and lunged forward but Mark managed to stop her,

"No Maddy he's only stunned" Mark assured her, and she fell apart into his chest and started crying uncontrollably as he held her as if trying to keep the nights events away from her, as Kono walked forward cautiously and kicked Ben's knife away just to be sure, and then the com unit crackled and he sighed with relief as Jim's voice could be heard with a lot of static,

"Bzzzz..erra Nova this is Bzzzim Shannon come in" it was finally starting to clear up

"Terra Nova this is sheriff Jim Shannon come in" Jim said over the com and Alicia walked up to the com unit

"This is Terra Nova Lieutenant Washington speaking over?" she answered

"They were infected with some virus that attacks the memory, but Elisabeth found a cure for it" Jim said

"Oh and I think Ben might be on his way over to you, if you see him do NOT confront him, he seems to have been affected differently than the rest, having not only lost his memory but seemed to have had a relapse from whatever crap they used on him in Somalia I think" Jim explained

"Don't worry Shannon, he's already here but we managed to subdue him or rather Maddy did most of the work" Alicia explained deadpan

"Say WHAT?" Jim asked incredulously,

"Is she alright?" Jim continued worriedly

"Look I'll tell you all about it when you come back" Alicia answered

"Oh yeah in that case you have to quarantine everyone that may have come into contact with him until Liz can whip up enough of the antidote" Jim declared.

The next day Elisabeth had started inoculating everyone affected by the pathogen,

Maddy and Mark were standing at the bed were Ben was lying as he started to wake up and Kono who was also there stopped Ben from trying to pull at the straps that were holding him down - he hated straps it brought back memories of some nightmares he really didn't like about camera like ray guns that blasted his head with light,

"Take it easy Ben, do you know where you are" Elisabeth queried as she came up to his bed, Ben looked around and answered the obvious question

"Terra Nova infirmary" he said and looked around again and also saw Jim standing there with one hand on Maddy's shoulder as she was still clinging to Reynolds and she kept checking the boys throat for that very small mark Ben left with his knife,

"Can I get up now….please?" Ben asked, and Elisabeth nodded and started releasing his bonds

"Thanks Liz Kono was giving me the; I'm going to tickle you look at me, and sorry about what happened at the outpost" Ben said which got Kono laughing as he raised his hands innocently

"Who me?" he said in mock innocence,

"Oh and Kono….You shot me!" Ben stated almost accusingly

"Well I had too Bennyboy wouldn't want you to hurt yourself" Kono apologized

"Great I'll never live this down one of my CO's gets the drop on me" Ben said in mock depression only to hear some grumbling from the bed a few meters away

"Stop whining son, I remember you struck me down….from behind no less" Taylor grumbled as he was getting up himself he had a small bandied on his head,

"Sorry about that sir I was apparently having a very bad day, I'll report to the brig as soon as I'm released from here" Ben declared but Taylor held up his hand

"You'll do no such thing boy, what you WILL do is meet me in the gym later on at the earliest opportunity and we'll see how you fare in a sparring match with me" Taylor said, which made at least Reynolds cringe he knew Taylor was the ONLY one he hadn't beaten in hand to hand combat,

"You're on sir" Ben said accepting the challenge

"Now THAT will be a match I'll want to see" Kono stated

"Anyone want to start betting on who will be carried out first?" he continued with a gleam in his eyes, he remembered when he himself had gone a sparring match with the old man and had been utterly humiliated, but he knew Ben was a tough nut to crack as well.

As everyone were leaving the infirmary Ben saw Maddy look at him with sad eyes, and he walked up to her,

"I'm sorry about the things I said yesterday sweetie" Ben apologized, but she shook her head and hugged him

"It's okay Uncle Ben you were not yourself, I just felt so worthless and weak just standing there blubbering" she stated, Ben looked at her

"Maddy you are anything But weak; you walked up to me trying to save your boy Reynolds, that took more guts than what I've seen in my entire life, you know I could've snapped right there and then?!" Ben said almost angrily. Not at her but at she saw herself as _weak _and she nodded

"Sweetie IF I ever have a kid – a daughter maybe then I'd be a truly lucky father if she even have half your smarts and a quarter of your bravery" he said and hugged her back as she beamed at him, then he saw Reynolds coming out of the infirmary and Ben stepped away from Maddy and looked sternly at him,

"And YOU next time a superior officer give you an order you obey it right?!" Ben grumbled at him

"Sorry sir I wasn't thinking" Reynolds said and then he looked as if he was contemplating something

"It's like I can't say no to her "he continued and pointed towards Maddy which made Ben smirk,

"Yeah I agree those cute doe eyes of hers are very difficult to resist especially when she wants something, she used that trick on both me and Jim and Kono, when she was little, and the only one that it did NOT work on was her mother, off course now Zoe seem to have _inherited _that particular trait" Ben stated and then turned to Maddy again

"Now if I can remember correctly I DO believe YOU have a date tonight with a certain bonehead of a soldier" and winked at Maddy while nodding in Reynolds direction which made Maddy blush and giggle and Reynolds looking like he just choked on something,

"Oh and reynolds, sorry for man-handling you" Ben apologized

"No worries sir, see not a single scratch?" Reynolds answered

Ben laughed inwardly and walked away from them and started off to the gym there were quite the gathering of people that seemed to be heading there, to see the so called _epic match_.

A few hours later when Ben was still nursing a few bruises after his _near_ win against Taylor, true Taylor had to go back to the infirmary to take care of a couple of broken ribs, and Ben a couple of broken fingers, he had NO idea that Taylor were that fast or that nimble, he was spry for his age that much Ben saw from the start but that good, Ben nearly won out of sheer stubbornness and youthful endurance until Taylor pulled a nice trick by letting loose on him using his own reserves, in the end they had both been forced to go to the infirmary not to mention listen to a very stern lecture from Elisabeth who made both men look like boys being berated.

Now Ben was sitting in the Shannon living room with Jim and his family and making faces at Zoe who told of how nice the _Reilly lady_ was when she baby sat for her, while Kono told everyone about the _epic match_ between Ben and Taylor

When Reilly had come and saw the sparring match she had been giving him looks that he just had no idea what so ever what they meant,

He could hear Reynolds playing guitar for Maddy who was no doubt swooning because of it and Ben had called them out,

"Hey Reynolds, you know the song oh Susanna?" he asked and Reynolds nodded

Ben took forth his fiddle and then they started playing as the rest of the Shannon family watched and listened, and especially Elisabeth, Maddy and Zoe and the entire family together with Reynolds was having a good time and felt that no matter what the future held in store for them they would face it

– As a family.

**Phew well that was chapter 12 finished pleae read and review and as before thanks to doctor anthony for proof reading and advice!**

**And also I'd like to welcome Ayziks back from vacation**


	13. Family Matters part one

**I hope y'all enjoyed the last chapter and thanks to Doctor Anthony for proof reading, and thanks for the reviews I've finally gotten over 30 yay!**

Ben was sitting outside his barrack door and playing on the fiddle, he didn't get much chance lately, so here he sat and played a sad ballad, as Taylor and Wash walked by

"That boy seriously need to lighten up, even his music though kind of nice, is sad as hell" Taylor commented and Wash looked over at Ben who smirked lightly and started playing the tune to _Dixie _instead which got Taylor to stop and mock glare at him and smirk,

"The man has a mean sense of humor as well" Taylor said and exaggerated his southern accent and Ben again smirked to himself, as the commander and the Lieutenant walked past in the distance, playing his fiddle right now was the only thing that kept him from losing it completely,  
Maddy had been standing no more than three feet from him the other night,

"_She is far braver than she'd admit_" he thought, and felt more pain when remembering the frightened look in her eyes the same look almost as when he took Elisabeth hostage at the outpost, a lone tear of shame slipped down his cheek,

"_I CAN'T fail them again….EVER!_" he thought angrily, by now he couldn't even concentrate on playing anymore,

And the kiss she gave him stirred _feelings_ that he thought he'd buried a long time ago, a nightmare he had when he was doing his last checkup at the veterans hospital a month before deciding on taking a volunteer tour in Cuba, he'd dreamed about Elisabeth, a downright pornographic dream to boot, when he'd woken up he'd felt so utterly disgusted with himself for just having such a _wet_ dream about a woman that was extremely beautiful yes, but who he did NOT feel like that for, she was the wife of his brother, HIS sister in law for Christ's sake?  
That's why he went to Cuba and practically threw himself into danger always choosing the worst part of the frontline and months later when he lay dying just outside Guantanamo he had been ready to die….he SHOULD have died, he could just not concentrate on playing at all.

A shadow stood over him as he sat there brooding, and he looked up and saw Kono, and he stood up and was almost at attention before Kono raised his hands,

"No salutes today kid, but you WILL accompany us to the beach" Kono said decidedly

"Err the beach?" Ben queried

"Yeah me and Alicia, Jim and Elisabeth, and YOU, OH I've even gotten you a blind date" Kono declared, Ben's eyebrows were almost off the planet

"Which poor sucker did you dig up for THAT?" Ben asked incredulously,

"Well since all of us have been given this day off, we decided to go and take a load off, so get your Speedo and meet us at the west gate" Kono said

"Speedo?" Ben queried having no idea what a _Speedo_ was,

"Just go get some shorts for beach wear" Kono chuckled,  
THAT Ben could understand, as Kono walked away, Ben went back to his room and put away his fiddle, and grabbed some shorts and a towel, not that he intended to take a bath,

Reilly had gotten an invitation as a to a blind date from Lieutenant Lao and to get some beach wear and meet him at the west gate, and so she did, when she got there she saw both sheriff Shannon and doctor Shannon as well as their youngest daughter Zoe who waved at her, and lieutenants Lao and Washington, and there was a man with his back to her but she recognized him and she felt oddly excited that she'd be having a _blind date_ with both of them as the _blind_ participants, she walked up as silently as she could,

When Ben got to the gate there was Jim, Elisabeth with little Zoe and Kono and Washington waiting and he joined them,

"Ah Bennyboy here ya are at last, and there's ya date for this little triple date" Kono said him and Jim having mischievous smiles and even Washington fighting a smirk when a hand was on his shoulder and Ben turned around and looked down at Anna Reilly smiling awkwardly at him, he gave her an awkward smirk in return,

"Well looks like everyone is here, so let's get going" Kono declared heartily, and they all started walking to the beach, Ben walked silently beside Reilly and this silence of his was driving her crazy, and he seemed deep in thought, there was a sort of pained expression on his face when he seemed to think no one was watching,

"_How come I always choose the tall dark handsome and tortured ones_?" she thought,

"_Maybe I simply like them like that_?" she thought again,

When they got to the beach and changed into their _beach apparel_, Reilly had never really seen Sergeant Shannon or _Ben_ in nothing but a pair of shorts and was amazed at how well sculpted his body was, strength wise he may probably be stronger than his brother or Lieutenant Lao, the scars that went all over his chest and abdomen and some even disappearing below his waist and on his legs,

"_Shiiet he's like a walking wound_?" she thought as she herself had changed into a bikini, she noticed him watching her and when she turned around to him he quickly turned around and stared at the cove that had been secured with a good fence that went both above and under water at the mouth of the cove,

Despite all those scars Ben Shannon looked very handsome beautiful even, he reminded Anna of Mark in many ways only more scarred and definitely more experienced, then she saw little  
Zoe Shannon walk up to him and look with those pleading eyes at him, the little girl didn't even seem to be afraid of just how dangerous he looked sometimes, Anna had heard about what he had done both at the outpost and at Taylor's office while being under the influence of that virus,

"Uncle Ben can you and Anna help me build a sand castle?" Zoe pleaded, and Anna Reilly had to hold her laughter as all that _tough guy_ façade just came crashing down, as he smiled at her,

"Sure thing giggles" he said and turned around to face Anna

"Hey Reilly….I mean err Anna, care to join us?" he stumbled over the words, making Zoe giggle madly,  
Now Ben noticed why they'd picked that particular spot, seeing what Jim was glaring at,  
Reynolds and Maddy were sitting further down the beach and Maddy was laughing because Reynolds were tickling her, Jim stood up but was stopped by Elisabeth before he could storm over,

Ben and Anna were helping Zoe with her sand castle, and Elisabeth had managed to get Jim to calm down enough to take a nap in the sand, that's when Kono came over at Ben, Anna and Zoe and whispered something in Ben's ear which made his face light up in a devious smirk and both men sneaked over to where Jim was snoozing and started covering him up except his head with sand, with Zoe giggling almost hysterically when Jim finally woke up and was less than amused now having sand in places where the sun don't shine, Jim turned to see Ben and Kono smirking and put the pieces together and started chasing them across the beach,  
Maddy and Mark who had been watching were laughing hard as Jim chased Ben and Kono just past them as they could clearly see why Jim was leaving a trail of dusty sand in his wake,

Alicia and Elisabeth were watching as Jim chased Ben and Kono around the beach,

"How has Kono been, since he came to Terra Nova?" Elisabeth asked

"He's been very good we started dating almost the moment he came through" Alicia chuckled,

"What about you and Jim? How have you been holding up?" Alicia asked

"We have been fine, ever since we came through it has been very good for us as a family" Elisabeth answered,

"I meant after what happened the other day, with Ben?" Alicia queried, and Elisabeth looked down into the sand

"I'm sorry it was difficult to see him like that, the virus seemed to have both shut some memories down but I'm also suspecting some memories came back for him, plus it made him extremely paranoid as well" Elisabeth said sadly,

"I knew he have been in war and that he is capable of killing, but up until now I had no idea how dangerous he could be!" she continued despondently,

"Remember that was not him, it was the virus" Alicia said comfortingly

"I know, you should have heard the commander ranting in the room we had locked him into" Elisabeth said, and both had to double over as Jim apparently caught up with Kono and Ben and all three went down at the edge of the water and rolled around in the sand wrestling and getting both wet and very muddy from the sand.

A few hours later after Jim, Kono and Ben had been forcibly told by both Elisabeth and Alicia to clean themselves off before leaving the beach, neither Mark nor Maddy or even Reilly and Zoe had not been laughing like that, and Mark hoped that he one day could have such a family, perhaps with Maddy he….?

"_Whoa whoa whoa I'm getting WAY ahead of myself here, just cool down Reynolds_!" he berated himself,

Later Ben was doing his rounds between the towers next to the east gate when he was called on his com by Corporal Reilly,

"Shannon here" he answered

"We've got some movement near the edge of the jungle sir" Reilly reported

"Okay Reilly I'll send out a patrol, just keep your eyes on it" Ben said

A few minutes Ben and a squad led by Wash were outside the gates looking around the area when Ben noticed that the insects in a part of the brush weren't making the right noises plus there were grass and some twigs that were recently stepped on or through, he could even hear breathing and quickly reached into the nearby brush and grabbed something and started pulling it out, after a brief struggle he managed to pull it out of the bush and looked down into the eyes of a girl with dirty blonde hair….hell she was dirty all over! And she did NOT like to be grabbed and kicked at him as he was carrying her back,

"Lieutenant I think I've found our little trespasser" he said

"You found anything?" he then asked

"No sir, not a thing" Curran answered

"Let's get back to the compound so we can…Hmmph!" Ben huffed as the girl kicked him in the stomach and he lifted her up so they were face to face,

"Alright girl I don't like to be kicked in the stomach or otherwise, so DON'T do that again….Okay?" he said sternly and she nodded.

"And I don't like to be bitten either so don't even think about it" he said again semi sternly before putting her down

When they got back inside the gates other soldiers were already there and Wash was there as well,

"We better get her to the infirmary and have her checked out" she said

"Yes ma'am" Ben replied

"I am going to put you down now so I'd appreciate if you don't try and run off on me because you wouldn't like it if I have to chase you down" he said and then "Okay?" he continued and she again nodded and looked at him and took his hand to his surprise and followed him to the infirmary while Wash called Elisabeth as she was on duty for the night,

When Elisabeth got to the infirmary she was met with all but utter chaos as the girl kicked the nurse trying to approach the girl to take some tests,

"What is going on here?" Taylor grumbled when he also came in

Elisabeth carefully approached the young girl with a medical scanning device and assured her it was not dangerous,

"Don't like needles" the girl said and nudged closer to Ben as he was crouching near her….she refused to let go of his hand as Elisabeth scanned her and smiled both to assure the girl and at the picture of how good a hand with children Ben had, now Kono also crouched down which at first made the girl recoil from him until Ben calmed her, seeing the frightened child broke his heart, and he looked sternly at the others,

"She's terrified, so can everyone please just get out"

"Don't be afraid, he's not as bad as he looks" he said calmingly to her, which earned him a glare from Kono

"I lost my bag" the girl said

"Now what's your name girl?" Kono then asked and she looked at him with big blue eyes the fear that had been there had started to disappear

"Leah Marcos and what's yours?" Leah asked defiantly and looked between Kono and Ben who both smiled

"Well Leah I'm Kono and this sourpuss here is Ben" Kono answered,

As both men was interacting with the child Alicia smiled to herself,

"_If only Kono got his act together and propose already_, _he'd make a wonderful father_" she thought

"_And Ben Shannon despite his scars and that tough guy persona he is very handsome and obviously very kind, why he hasn't gotten even a girlfriend by now is beyond me?_" she thought again

"_Reilly seems interested enough though she'd have to change to another squad, the commander would never allow it otherwise but there may be a chance_" she continued

After Elisabeth had finished checking Leah for possible injuries Taylor decided to come forward with some food for the girl who looked malnourished, when she saw the food he brought she practically lounged at it and started eating voraciously which confirmed everyone's suspicions, Ben gave Elisabeth a look of concern which she returned,

"Well you certainly have a healthy appetite for such a little peanut" Taylor then said to Leah, she looked at him and smiled

"I am Commander Taylor" he said which made Leah shy away from him and tried to hide behind Ben and Elisabeth,

"Hey Goldie locks, you don't have to be afraid of him, he growls more than he bites" Ben said as he forgot there were other people there besides him and Leah, Elisabeth knew how gentle he was with children so she wasn't all that surprised at Ben's attempt at calming the girl, Taylor briefly glared at Ben while Elisabeth and Alicia snickered and Jim and Kono grinned, they were going to milk that particular softy style of his for a long time,

"He's the bad man" Leah said frightened and hid behind Ben as Taylor smiled warmly and carefully approached as not to spook her,

"Oh I'm not as dangerous as you might think Leah" Taylor said reassuringly to her

She looked at Taylor warily for a few moments,

"Mira says you're a bad man" she explained deadpan and he chuckled

"You'll find that there's a lot of things Mira have told you that ain't true" he said and smiled at her

"Where's your parents?" Ben asked calmly, and Leah kept eating as if every bite were her last,

"Been a while since you've eaten?" Ben asked,

"I only get scraps, that's why I ran away, I'm gonna stay with my Nana, she always has a lot of food" Leah blurted out, which made Ben worried and angry

"_I'm starting to dislike these sixers….a LOT_" he thought angrily

"Does _Nana_ live in Terra Nova?" Taylor asked

"9007 Newberry Avenue, apartment C, district ten" Leah said, everyone looked at her,

"New Texas" she continued, she then turned to Ben and Kono

"I tried to find the portal but got turned around backwards" she said and turned toward Jim who had come a little closer

"Which way is it?" she finished

"Eat your food" Jim said gently

"We'll talk about it later" Jim answered

Taylor now looked at her more closely

"You know I remember you, Leah Marcos, you came here with your parents, and heck you couldn't have been bigger than this" Taylor said and measured up between his hands,

"There was a time when I knew the name of every one in Terra Nova; Man, woman and peanut" he said smiling and looked over at Elisabeth and Jim

"Well her BMI is lower than I'd like it to be, and I like to get some more fluids in her….but she's generally healthy" Elisabeth said, now Leah started to move away

"I'm going now" she stated, and started moving toward the infirmary exit,

"Whoa there goldilocks" Ben said and gently stopped her from going off, she looked up at him and then tried to go by him but he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, she seemed to calm down a bit,

"You know? The portal….it doesn't go both ways" Elisabeth explained, now Leah looked distraught

"What?" she asked almost ready to go into tears,

"Once you go through, you can't get back" Jim said almost crouching and looking concerned, Leah looked first at Jim and then at Elisabeth,

"You're lying" she said accusingly, and Jim shifted

"I'm sorry sweetheart" Elisabeth said apologetically

"So I can't see my grandma?" Leah asked despondently tears were falling down her face

"No I'm afraid you can't" Elisabeth answered

"Where do I go now?" Leah asked now sounding almost desperately, Ben again put his hand on her shoulder and gave her an empathic look

"I can't stay here, not with the bad man" Leah said with a frightened look at Taylor, Kono had to hide a smirk at that, he knew Taylor would NEVER in a million years harm or allow harm to come to any child, "_Not to mention I think Ben would slaughter anyone trying to anyway_" he thought remembering what he almost did the other night, for the first time he understood Ben's capabilities if not his motives,

"And I can't go back to Mira's….she'll" Leah continued

"She'll….hurt me for running away" she finished

Everyone looked at Taylor, who looked thoughtful and looked at Ben,

"Sergeant why don't you keep the young lady company while I talk with the sheriff here….she seems to have bonded to you anyway" he said with a grin at which Ben just realized he had unknowingly let his façade drop….AGAIN!

While Taylor, Jim and Elisabeth were talking, Ben sat down beside a now crying Leah and put his arm around her shoulders,

"Hey kiddo, you're gonna be alright, you're safe now" he said with as friendly a voice as he could muster, glaring at Kono and Wash smirking at him,

Ben was trying to listen in on what Taylor was talking to Jim and Elisabeth about he could hear something about Jim saying "she's just a kid" and Taylor replying with something about trust, suddenly Ben felt a very petite finger on his brow he turned his grey eyes toward Leah who was touching the scars on the right side of his face,

"Did it hurt when you got these?" Leah asked, he smiled at her

"Not so much" he answered

"How did you get them?" Leah asked no longer crying

"In the aftermath of a battle" he replied, it was partially true even if those scars were a reminder of his own shame and inadequacy,

"Why haven't you had them removed?" Leah asked again

"Because they serve as a powerful reminder of that….event" Ben said reluctantly

Then Commander Taylor, Jim and Elisabeth came back from the corner where they had been talking in, and Jim turned toward Leah

"Hey kiddo, you'll be staying with us until we can find somewhere for to live" he said

"Is that okay?" he continued, Leah nodded and stood up as did Ben,

"Okay then" Elisabeth said and moved to take Leah's hand but she recoiled and instead grabbed Ben by the arm, who looked a little embarrassed,

"Can't I stay with Ben instead?" she said and Jim and Ben and Kono face palmed themselves in unison

"Sweetie you wouldn't like it there plus I don't have a lot of room, and it's full of smelly apes there as well" Ben said apologetically, Leah stared at him in confusion

"They kind of look like him" Ben said and pointed at Kono who glared, Leah stared at him

"And they smell like him" Ben continued pointing at Jim who glared at him also, Leah almost started giggling but stopped and resumed trying to mimic Ben's stone-faced exterior,

"But I don't want to go with them" Leah then whimpered and moved closer hugging Ben who looked embarrassed with Jim and Kono snickering even Taylor smirked at Ben's discomfort,

Ben bowed down and picked her up and put her on his right hip,

"I'll go with you and you'll see it's not that bad okay?" he said with that gentle tone he practically never used otherwise and started walking out of the infirmary with the others in tow,

They were walking towards the Shannon house through the plaza in front of the command centre and Ben met Curran that just looked at him as if Ben just stepped off the spaceship from Mars or something, there were some soldiers staring as well, they had obviously heard about the _sixer girl_ Ben gave them soldiers and civilians alike a slight glare when he realized Leah getting uncomfortable.

When they got to the house Leah kept dozing off in Ben's arms.  
Maddy had already prepared Josh's room and of course evicted him from it so he was looking more annoyed than usual, Elisabeth, Jim and Kono came in right after Ben who put Leah down who still insisted on holding his hand were staring around worriedly, Elisabeth started introducing her children,

"Well this is our son Josh" she said and Josh grumbled a "Hi",

"And this is our eldest daughter Maddy" she continued and Maddy gave a smile and a nod

"And this is Zoe our youngest" Elisabeth finished, and Zoe came up showing Leah her stuffed dinosaurs she had made herself

"You know Zoe has a plant that eats bugs" Jim said and bowed down to Leah's level smiling, Ben was about to kneel down as well when his knife came loose out of its sheath and dropped to the floor, he picked it up and put it on the counter before turning to Leah again smiling reassuringly, then his com beeped and he turned to answer it,

"Shannon here" he answered

"Sergeant I need you to help me find where Leah Marcos may have dropped her bag, meet me at the east gate" Alicia said sternly

"Be there in five" Ben replied and turned to get his knife but a petite hand on his forearm and looked up

"Don't go" she pleaded, Jim and Kono was making half choked noises obviously trying not to laugh out loud,

"Hey kiddo, I can come by later….okay? Meanwhile you can make fun of Lieutenant Lao here" he said and she nodded before hugging him which he awkwardly returned before gently moving off and smiling at her and then left in a hurry,

Ben started jogging towards the gate, he was a bit dismayed since he'd been wearing his full armor since the morning and it together with the heat and sweating had caused him to pick up a less than desirable smell, when he got to the gate Wash was already there waiting for him,

"Glad you could make it Shannon" she smirked at him as he saluted, and then she wrinkled her nose,

"And after we get back sergeant YOU are going to take a shower" she then added sternly

"Yes ma'am" he replied and shouldered his rifle and got into the rover with her and started the engine, and they drove out from the east gate.

Ben drove out into a small clearing where he had found Leah and they started searching the area,

"She said it has to be here somewhere" Wash said and looked around with her rifle at the ready, Ben did the same, after about an hour of searching Wash found what could only be Leah's bag she searched through it and found a few trinkets and a ragdoll made out of straw,

"Could it be hers" Ben queried realizing it had to be,

"Unless there are more bags loitering out here dropped by little girls" Wash said sarcastically, and started back at the rover when Ben suddenly stopped her by grabbing her,

"Shannon what the….?" She started angrily until he pointed towards the ground; Wash looked down and saw what it was he had seen a rope trap that she almost stepped into; what was even more concerning, the trap looked freshly made.

That's when they heard a scream almost like a battle cry and men in ragged clothing came running out of the jungle, Ben something looking like a bola came flying at Wash but he was too late to stop it hit Wash and she went down, Ben couldn't help her since he got his hands full by the two sixers charging at him, he was taken by surprise and got his rifle knocked out of his hands, he saw a third sixer closing in on Wash with a knife but she managed to shoot him with her sonic pistol, those few seconds of inattentiveness caused Ben greatly as he was jumped himself, though he managed to knock out one of them when the other one pulled out an impressing knife Ben smiled and went for his own

"_Picked the wrong man for that_" he thought as his hand grabbed for the hilt of his knife only to grab….Nothing but an empty sheath.

"_SHIT!_"

He remembered he must have forgotten it at the Shannon house, the sixer smiled viciously at him and came at him "_getting overconfident are we?_" Ben thought as he whipped around and kicked the man in the groin who went down with a sigh and eyes tightly shut in pain, by then he could afford a look at how Wash was doing she had knocked out another sixer but was then tackled down a steep slope so that Ben could no longer see her, and at the moment he had more problems of his own when he felt pain in his thigh and looked down at the sixer he'd knocked out earlier had stabbed his knife into it, three additional sixer thugs came running at him by now his concern for his CO and his anger at these traitors for their treatment of a child, but he was getting tired and was now also burdened down by his injury a small one true but the blood loss was starting to take its toll as he got weaker moving around and dodging fists feet and whatever makeshift weapons his assailants had, he managed to smash the nose of one and sent another flying before he received a hit by a club at his knee that sent him to the ground grunting in pain, and then they were all over him beating and kicking until everything went black.

Alicia had fallen down the slope and lost contact with Shannon but she could still hear the grunts and screams as he was apparently holding his own, but she couldn't worry about him since that thug Carter Mira's second assaulted her, after having manhandled him for a while she tripped and was on the ground crawling away from him, she was about to grab the gun she had dropped on her way down when someone stepped on her hand and she looked up into Mira's less than kind face,

"Still doing Taylor's dirty work?" she said scornfully and hit Alicia with her rifle butt and everything went black for her,

When Alicia woke up again with a splitting headache she realized her hands were tied, she looked around and saw Shannon lying beside her unconscious and bleeding all over and with what looked like a deep wound in the leg for it was bleeding and he was starting to look very pale,

"What the hell did you do to him?" she growled

"Mira, you have to take care of his wound or at least let me do it, otherwise he'll bleed out" she said with more anger than she meant to,

Mira walked over with some bandages and started treating Ben's leg, and the gash on his forehead,

"You should be proud of him, it took seven of my guys to bring him down and three of them will be out of commission for at least a month" she said without taking her eyes off her work,

"It seems to me your goons got a _little_ overzealous!" Alicia snarled, Mira seemed to not even react

"Just be careful I stopped them in time, AND that I'm patching him up" Mira replied coldly, and finished up what she could do, Ben was still unconscious.

Mira after having knocked Washington out had gone back up the slope and seen this _Shannon_ guy lying on the ground and four of her men beating on him even though he was by then out cold, after she stopped them she was surprised he'd actually made it after such a beating,

"Okay secure them in the Rhino transport with me and let's move out" Mira ordered

At the Shannon house Maddy had just checked on Leah and Zoe and was on her way out when she noticed her Uncle Ben's knife lying on the table,

"_He must have forgotten it_" she thought and hesitated before carefully picking it up and examining the ten inch blade, Ben never let them touch it, it black and had double jagged edges and was long as the one carried by Mark when he was on duty – but those were for clearing underbrush rather than people,  
she noticed when she grabbed the hilt it started humming very slightly, she realized it must be one of those vibroblades but she knew they were also outlawed in the future, they were said to be able could cut through body armor with even steel,

"_This is what he almost killed Mark with_" she thought and then she felt guilty "_NO it wasn't his fault he was under the effects of that virus, that wasn't him at all….or?_" she traced her finger along the length of the blade wondering just how sharp it was before Zoe came out of their room and startled her that she inadvertently cut herself on the edge and a few drops of blood were dripping down the blade,

"_Damn I, well now I know how sharp it is_" she scolded herself and put the knife on the counter and grabbed a tissue to wipe her finger when the door opened and Kono came through, she quickly hid her hand behind her back,

"Hey Maddygirl what's up, I was just here to check how things are going with the new arrival?" he queried when he noticed the knife on the counter,

"Whoa Ben left his knife here, he must be getting sloppy, he never goes anywhere without that thing" he said and looked at Maddy

"You alright there sweetie, you look like you've just been caught with your hand in the proverbial cookie jar?" he asked

"I'll just grab this for him then, and give it to him before he realizes and freaks out" he chuckled, Maddy smiled back at him awkwardly, and left in a hurry – he had been meaning to talk to Taylor about what he'd seen in Ben's files, he needed to tell maybe Jim and Elisabeth about it as well but he KNEW this would hurt them to see this,

"_I'll start with telling Taylor and HE can decide if we should tell them as well_" he thought, he hated going behind Ben's back but this kind of crap he HAD to tell their CO about at least, as he jogged towards the command centre through the market when he saw both Jim and Taylor walking along and stopped in front of them, Jim noticed him almost immediately "_Those Shannon eyes never misses anything_" he thought and stood in front of Taylor and Jim looked at Ben's knife in Kono's hands,

"Does Ben know you're fondling his knife?" Jim queried

"What no he seems to have forgot it at your house earlier" Kono answered and turned to the commander

"Sir I need to talk to you about something and you too Ji….I mean sheriff" Kono blurted out

"Well what is it Lieutenant?" Taylor asked deadpan

"The other night when you and him got messed up by that virus, I sort of went into his files and found something that I think both of you would want to see unless you already know about it sir" Kono explained while Taylor's face looked puzzled and then curious, and Jim looked worried,

"And?" Jim asked his face a mask of total worry

"Well sir I sort of had to ahem break into a few of them" Kono said and now Taylor's eyes narrowed

"That's pretty serious Lieutenant, some of those files are encrypted for a reason" he said sternly and with a hint of anger in his voice

"I know sir but I got worried and my feelings for Bennyboy got the best of me, but the ones I had to break into had been encrypted by General Philbrick and could only be opened by him personally" Kono answered

"That's odd? Since he's dead those encryptions should have opened for me but didn't, I tried to open a few myself since I'm senior officer around here" Taylor said confused, he didn't have the chance to do or say anything more when the alarms started blaring and a guard at the main gate were screaming; "SIXERS!" all three men turned on their heels and ran for the gate,

When they got there Jim got a rifle from a soldier and Kono who already had his readied it for firing, as the sixer vehicles came rolling towards the colony and came to a stop about a hundred feet from the gate and disgorged a group of sixers,  
Kono's blood froze when he saw his lover Alicia bound up with a thick stick over her shoulders.

Jim could see that Wash were beaten up but not too severely…but where was Ben he had gone with her out,

"_If they have….?_" He pushed the terrible thought away, Mira stepped out from the leading Rhino and cut Alicia's bonds and she immediately went for the back of the other rover and Jim leapt at the sight of his brother as Alicia held up his limp form with his arm over her shoulder as she stood there guarded by those damn cowards, but before he could start Kono practically roared,

"LET THEM GO YOU BITCH!" Kono roared at Mira but got a harsh glare from Taylor, just seeing Alicia beaten like that were enough to royally piss him off but when he saw Ben he had to control his anger, something Jim failed at since he started moving fast towards the sixers seemingly un caring about the weapons they trained at them,

"No Jim stop" Kono growled and caught his best friend before he could run over and help Alicia with Ben who seemed completely lifeless, he then saw that Carter and at least half a dozen more of those bastards looked like they had their asses handed to them, and he smiled,

"_At least they gave more than they got apparently_" he could hear Taylor talking to Mira and someone were bringing that little girl Leah out of the gates Mira at first seemed genuinely concerned but then he could hear her; "SPEAK" Mira barked at the poor child who said something and Mira seemed to calm down after a while, and apparently agreed to release Alicia and Ben and the two – or rather Alicia hobbled toward them with her heavy and seemingly lifeless,

"That's the second time you've come with weapons to my gates Mira….Next time I'm going to war" Taylor said threateningly at her, and after Mira had mounted in her Rhino and the sixer vehicles started moving off he immediately turned to look at his two soldiers and quickly walked up to Wash but Jim Shannon and Lieutenant Lao got there first, Jim caught his brother and Taylor helped him and checked the young man's pulse,

"_Alive, this kid must have more lives than a cat to have survived this beating….Damn he looks like he just tried directing traffic for a herd of triceratops and then played dentist with a bunch of carnos?_" he thought as he looked the man over, some field medics came over with a stretcher and Jim with Taylor's help put the younger Shannon on it.

Jim noticed Leah came and put her hand on Ben's left shoulder which seemed to be one of the very few places where there was not any blood or at least not as much, she looked as if she felt guilty when she looked at Ben as Jim could see the tears in her eyes,

"My fault" she whispered, and Jim put his hand on her shoulder

"Listen Leah, what happened was NOT your fault, you understand?" he said now having calmed down at first seeing his brother beaten almost to death….again, and then seeing how Mira had treated Leah, he decided he did NOT like Mira or her damn thugs – at ALL!


	14. Family Matters Part 2

**Thanks to doctor anthony for proof read. And also thanks big time for all the reviews, this chapter will be a bit darker and with hints at possible sexual harassment – so you've been warned.**

Leah nodded that she understood what Jim had said, but she still felt guilty, this stern almost scary looking but STILL seemingly very kind man,

"_This IS my fault_" she thought before she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Commander Taylor's kind face,

"You there peanut – you did great out there" Taylor said kindly to her, which only made her feel worse,

"You weren't even scared were you?" he continued, Leah shook her head

"I can see that you aren't, you look like you might even throw a punch or something" Taylor said

"Though I might have to hold you back – hey, let's see what you got huh?" he continued "Come on. Let me have it" he said challengingly and put up his hand in front of her, Leah turned and looked up at Jim Shannon who was standing behind her

"Whack him" Jim said and smiled

Leah hit Taylor's hand with all her might and he mockingly drew the hand back as if hit really hard

"OW" I knew it that is a mean right hand you've got there. Lethal, so keep practicing and when you turn eighteen – I might have to put you in uniform" Taylor said and smiled again, Leah smiled back

"I like uniforms, like Ben's" she replied smiling remembering how cool Ben Shannon looked in his uniform, Taylor looked at her and smiled warmly

"Look I know you've heard some pretty terrible things about me, and I don't know how life is out there with the sixers, but Leah, take a look around" he said and they looked around and Leah could see people having fun and being generally happy, there were some people around a small orchard talking and kids – both young and older playing.

"People are happy here, they're safe, everybody's got a home and nobody gets scraps." He finished

"Don't like scraps" Leah replied,

"We move all the time and I don't like that either" she continued

"Were do you move to?" Taylor asked

"Lots of places, Mira never lets us stay in the same place for very long" Leah answered

Taylor hummed lightly "Mmm"

"You know how to read a map?" he asked curiously

"I like maps. My dad taught me how to read them….before the slasher ate him" she said sadly, Taylor looked comforting at her

"Yeah, I tell you what, maybe after you get settled in, you and I can sit down, take a look at some of the places you've stayed" he proposed

"Maybe you can show me where your camp is?" he then said

"Deal?" he finished, Leah nodded and took his hand and shook it hard

"Ow!" Taylor said and chuckled and petted her shoulder again

"I need that list" he said to Jim and walked off towards the infirmary where Kono had gone with Washington and Ben, Leah had no idea what that was about,

Jim turned to Leah and smiled lightly

"Come on" he said but she stopped

"Is Ben going to be alright?" she asked worried remembering the kind soldier

"You can see him when he comes to" Jim said, but Leah wanted to see him now she had seen the state he had been in and it was all because of her and she wanted to make sure he would be alright,

"Okay but he may be out still…." He started before Leah was accosted by Casey Durwin and a few others that wanted to greet her to the colony,

"I never forget a name or a face, but somewhere along the way I've forgotten my legs, so if ya happen to see them walking around somewhere could you tell them I'm looking for them?" he said with a wide smile,

She smiled at their kindness which was a whole of a lot considering how she had been living with the sixers, after Casey gave her a flower to welcome her back to Terra Nova, and smiled at them again and started off toward the infirmary with Jim Shannon.

The soldiers carrying Ben were racing to the infirmary with Kono helping Alicia despite her practically hissing at him that she did NOT need any help which of course he ignored, Alicia was more worried about Ben Shannon as he had been taking a real beating and were still unresponsive.

In the infirmary Elisabeth were showing Maddy around the various machines and a few of the patients - Maddy had started interning with her mother this day, when a group of field medics and other soldiers came rushing in with a stretcher upon lay…."Uncle Ben" Maddy exclaimed in horror at her uncle's unmoving and seemingly lifeless form, at the sound of her daughters terrified voice and the name of her brother-in-law Elisabeth turned and for a few seconds stared in horror but quickly gathered herself and started giving out orders –

"Put him here now" she ordered sternly

The soldiers quickly obeyed and lifted Ben onto a biobed,

"Maddy activate the biobed sensors" Maddy first stood frozen to the spot but soon obeyed, with a lump in her throat, she remembered the few pictures she had seen when she hacked his files, and now there he was her uncle one of the five most important men in her life now that Mark Reynolds had come into it, her powerful unbeatable uncle that after hearing about her treatment in school and the teachers apathy about it went there a few weeks before they were about to go to Terra Nova and brought her and Josh home, after he had a little _talk_ with their principal which left the principal trembling, Maddy never learned exactly what Ben had said to him but it was abundantly clear that the principal were scared of him afterwards, now Ben was lying there all but lifeless except for some unsteady breathing as she could see his chest rising and falling, his face was swollen and there was blood….so much blood that it almost made Maddy's stomach turn, Ben had always appeared so strong and now he looked so frail.

The biobed came to life as Maddy activated it and started scanning Ben's injuries and Elisabeth gasped at the many wounds and fractures – but there was something strange about it when the scan went over his body so she magnified the image a few times and what she saw made her rub her eyes,

"There's something strange about this" she said more to herself than anyone in particular and decided to take some blood work, after Cuba the military doctors had said "blood work have already been done no need" they had said,

"Maddy can you take some blood tests on him" Elisabeth told her daughter; she could see how shocked Maddy was and thought if she gave her a task Maddy would snap out of it,

At first Maddy hesitated

"_Some blood sample I can do_" she mentally scolded herself wishing Mark was there to be her support,

A few minutes later Jim came in with Leah, followed by Josh and Zoe, Josh remembered when Ben had come home from Cuba and they had visited him on the hospital in Miami it had been just after Zoe was born and Kono had been recruited to Terra Nova, Josh had been twelve and Maddy eleven, the annoying part was that they had a friend to the family take care of Zoe that time, his parents after that wanted Ben to live with them or at least as near as possible but Ben didn't want to be a burden.

"_Burden? HA, had he been there when those population control pricks had shown up he would have easily killed them, or better yet HE could have taken care of Zoe instead of volunteering for every stupid war on the planet_" Josh thought angrily, of course he was worried about him despite he was worried about his dad as well and his mom, he looked over at Ben where he lay on the bed and felt a sigh behind him and turned around to see a soldier with some really nasty scars in his face and almost red eyes,

"Don't you worry none young lad, I'm sure you uncle will pull through" he said with an even more annoying British accent than that wimp Wallace, "_how mom could ever date that guy I'll never know_"

"And you are?" Josh asked annoyed

"Sergeant Nicholas Smythe, I have had the honor of meeting your mother and sisters" Nick said and gave an oily smile, which made Josh shiver, there was SOMETHING about this guy he did NOT like but he could not think of why, after all the guy seemed nice enough,

"My sister's got enough suitors _Nicholas_" Josh hissed at him suspecting he was another one of those morons eyeing Maddy, which had been going on a lot lately "_HOW the hell did Maddy become so popular all of a sudden?_"

"OH, I am sorry young lad I am NOT trying to woo your sister, god no I could potentially have a daughter her age myself" Nick said and raised his hands in surrender

"How old are you then?" Josh asked

"I am thirty one years old Mister Shannon" Nick said chuckling

"Though I have to say I am flattered at you thinking I was trying something" he continued

"No I used to be a comrade of your Uncle Benjamin there, I was just worried about him that is all" Nick said with the friendliest voice he could muster

"_Probably someone from Uncle Ben's war days_" he thought.

Smythe extended his hand and put it on Josh's shoulder

"No hard feelings then?" he said and smiled lightly, and Josh calmed down a bit

"Yeah, sorry I snapped at ya, ever since we got here guy's have been ogling Maddy especially that moron Reynolds" Josh said angrily, and Nick looked thoughtful for a while before he spoke again

"Hmmm, you know I could keep an eye on young corporal Reynolds being a sergeant myself, but tell none of this to your uncle or the rest of your family, after all we wouldn't want to worry them needlessly" he said reassuringly, and Josh smiled a little

"Thanks man" Josh said and shook Nick's hand again, Nick smiled at him

"Now you should go be with your uncle though I KNOW he have survived far worse than this" he said "_Sadly_".

Elisabeth was worried about Ben when she saw him get carried in but according to the biobed he were simply knocked out and according the machines he was making a impossibly fast recovery when she checked on them, right now Jim came in with the young girl Leah who looked over at Ben's still form,

"It's okay sweetie, he's just sleeping now, you can see him if you want" Elisabeth said and the girl walked to Ben and put a hand on his brow, Jim looked over at Elisabeth questions clear in his face,

"He's making a miraculous recovery Jim, it's almost as if his body is working overtime to repair itself, with the treatment he gets here he should be up and about again in a couple of days" she continued, when Taylor walked in,

"Good to hear doc, what about Wash?" he asked

"I already discharged her, her injuries were far less severe than Ben's" she answered

"What about him then? Though Wash told me he sent four out of 7 sixers to their infirmary before they took him down" Taylor said and looked over at Ben where Leah were hovering and held his hand, and in the corner of his eye Taylor saw Jim smirk at the words of what Ben did to the sixers,

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about commander, he seems as if his injuries are healing a lot faster than what is humanly possible, I took some blood work earlier" Elisabeth answered

"And?" Taylor queried

"You may want to see this commander" she said and showed him to the computer with the data on the blood work taken earlier, he looked at the readings and pictures showing and then looked at her, Elisabeth rolled her eyes

"There seems to be what must be nanobots in his blood stream that seem to be the cause of the rapid healing and then there is…." She trailed off before she had to turn away and wipe some tears from her eyes, "_all this feels so morbid_", until Jim took her by the shoulders and looked worriedly into her eyes, he looked shocked, true he didn't know jack shit about nanobots but he understood it must be important to cause his wife such grief

"I also took these picture scans of his internal organs" she continued and pressed another button on the computer, and by then Taylor's jaw dropped severely and then he closed his eyes

On the screen was an image of Ben's heart and lungs and they were just….wrong,

"He has had his heart and lungs replaced with cybernetic ones and parts of his skeleton looks as if it has been….enhanced as well, especially around the rib cage" she said and by now she had trouble talking as she was swallowing intently,

"Parts of his skeleton has been reinforced by some form of tissue the computer will not identify, and there is also what looks like some form of chip in his frontal lobe" she continued on, and both Taylor and Jim just blinked, until Taylor narrowed his eyes at no one in particular

"Damnation, he's a Darkstar soldier? That's not possible" he snarled

"A Dark - what?" Jim asked

"A dark - what?" echoed Kono as he was entering the room, he was there to check on Ben, and when he saw the screens of information his eyes enlarged into almost _animé_ size,

"What the hell is this?" he asked with a raised voice,

Taylor at first looked as if he didn't want to say anything more but Elisabeth fixed him with that _Shannon woman_ glare that even he could not stand up against and relented,

"About a hundred and seventy years ago elements in the US government and the military black ops performed experiments on dead American soldiers to see if they could _resurrect _them, and thereby _minimize _battlefield losses" he said through gritted teeth for he felt utterly disgusted by such desecration of soldiers that had died for their country or for ANY country.

"It may have gone further back than that, the program continued throughout the early two thousands until it was cancelled" Taylor usually didn't like admitting this even happened but right now he was really pissed,

"Apparently NOT" Kono growled, but was waved off by Jim who stared at Taylor who took the hint and continued

"After resurrection they erased the soldier's memory of the moment of death to make him completely obedient and to avoid any mental problems" he said, and now Kono was starting to look very guilty

"Oh my god" he sighed and stroked his hand through his hair, until he noticed everyone looking at him

"In Cuba at the battle of Guantanamo, Ben got hit by shrapnel pretty hard, when the field medics came and got him his heart stopped but since I heard that they managed to get it going again so I didn't think of it then….I mean why worry you in vain, I should have known….NOONE can survive something like that" he exclaimed,

Elisabeth put her hand in front of her mouth

"What the hell do you mean Kono?" Jim said his voice barely audible

"Jim, Liz Ben died there, I thought it was just a miracle but apparently it was not" Kono's eyes were watering, "I'm sorry Jim – I'm so god damn sorry" he whined but Jim put his hand on the other mans shoulder to calm him, but then he snapped to "CRAP, sir the files I was talking about before, there could be….there MUST be some information on them about what kind of screwed up shit they did to him" he finished and Taylor nodded and then turned to Elisabeth,

"Anything else doc?" he asked though he had a feeling there was more to this,

"I did a full body work on him and the brain scans that revealed the chip also revealed extensive scarring on his brain" she explained

"They tried to lobotomize him as well?" Jim snarled

"No it was done with retinal implantation….Brainwashing for a lack of a better word" she said now with tears falling down her cheeks, Jim moved to embrace her even his eyes were moist,

"Could this be one of the reasons why he reacted differently to that _memory virus?_" he queried with a thick voice, Taylor felt a pang of pain for these people, to have been through so much and now this?

"I don't think the virus affected him much – at least not the way it was _supposed _to, I will have to do some more _research_" Elisabeth said as professionally as she could almost choking at when she had to say the word _Research_.

Taylor led them over to the command centre while Leah stayed behind,

"I'm so sorry I never wanted anyone to get hurt, all I want is to protect my brother Sam" Leah said tearfully, for some reason she liked this soldier he seemed very nice, he had those eyes that gave off confidence, and now he had gotten really hurt because of her, she didn't know what to do anymore, she jumped a little when Ben stirred on the bed, she turned and left the infirmary now confused at what she should do,

Maddy had been standing in her mother's office and listened in to what the adults had been talking about, she didn't mean to eavesdrop she just happened to be standing there organizing the complete mess her mother always left, now she walked up to the computer that Elisabeth had forgotten to turn off and looked at the results, "_The files!_" she thought, the files she had hacked into….some of them at least, without saying a word she walked up to the biobed and stroked Ben's brow, and examined the gash – it were already healing which was at least a couple of days faster than normal….NOW he truly looked broken, a lone tear fell down her cheek, she felt so utterly useless – "_NO Ben said I'm not weak there are different kinds of strengths in all of us_" she thought but the occasional tear still fell down her face,

Maddy was totally unaware that a pair of red brown eyes were watching her, every time Nick looked at this girl he had to stop himself from simply walking over and embracing her, instead he was content to stand just a few feet away watching her, she was wearing a simple green button dress that was held with a belt at the waist all under that dreadfully un attractive hospital coat she was also wearing, her hair was tied up in a very attractive combination of braids in a bun in all its simplicity,

"_Oh look she's crying for that idiot, how beautiful she looks_" Nick had to resist the urge to reach out and taste the tears, "_My GOD she is beautiful_" Nick was interrupted in his musings when that idiot Reynolds came blundering into the infirmary and looked around until he saw Maddy Shannon and walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder, and she turned around and looked up at him.

Maddy felt a light hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Mark Reynolds looking kindly at her –

"You alright?" he said gently to her, it was a stupid question – of course she was Not alright her uncle had been hurt maybe seriously, Maddy simply stepped inside his arms and hid her face into his chest, he held her and gently stroked her hair,

From his place behind the doors Nicholas Smythe was absolutely fuming, "_HOW DARE HE TOUCH HER?_" he thought, it took every ounce of his willpower not to simply step over there and wring that moron's neck! But instead he carefully sneaked through the doors without them even noticing he were ever there.

Maddy buried her face into the crook Mark's neck, and stayed like that until she was certain her tears had subsided,

"I'm sorry Mark, I shouldn't have done that, hid my face and blubbering like some little girl" she said muffled since her face were hidden into the crook of his neck,

Mark took her face between his hands and looked into her eyes,

"Now listen Maddy, you have NOTHING to be ashamed of….nothing at all" he stated resolutely, and she looked at him and smiled slightly, suddenly there was a low grumbling from the biobed

"I didn't think you two were at a first name basis yet?" Ben croaked weakly, both almost jumped out of their skins – especially Mark at his sudden interruption, Maddy turned and looked down at her uncle who were looking up at them only a few moments ago had been unconscious or at least deep asleep, but she knew also that Ben usually always woke up at the slightest of sounds,

"UNCLE BEN! You're awake?!" she cried out and hugged him tightly, with tears of relief

"Well of course I am, sweetie" Ben croaked again and tried to sit up was still weak from the beating and PLUS he had a very excited niece weighing his chest down, until Maddy stood up and started helping him sit up,

"Are you in any pain should I go get Mom or do you want any pain medication I can get it for you we were so worried about you it's good to see you are awake Uncle Ben you sure you don't need anything?!" Maddy rambled out, and Ben laughed weakly

"Maddy sweetie slow down before you faint from acute lack of air" he chuckled jokingly

"Sorry Uncle Ben, I….we thought you'd be out for at least another day!" she exclaimed laughing through her tears,

"Well as you can see I'm not princess, so any chance I might get something to drink? I'm parched" he said and made a face as if he really were thirsty, Maddy smiled

"I'll go get sir" Reynolds said quickly and turned and walked over to the sink while looking for something to actually pour the water in,  
"_That uncle of hers is one tough one_" Mark thought as he was looking for a cup while he let the water run so it would be cold and finally found one that he filled with water.

"You know I do think that boy likes you VERY much sweetie" Ben said teasingly to Maddy, Maddy blushed and tried to hide her face again and Ben chuckled,

"No he's not" she said modestly, Ben sighed smiling

"You know pumpkin, you've had it pretty rough back in the future, but that's no reason for you to give up hoping for something better!" he said reassuringly

"You've been through worse than that Uncle Ben" Maddy replied

"Okay then we BOTH have been through a rough time, so let's make a pact to _re-invent _ourselves as best we can huh?" he declared, Maddy beamed at him and nodded and hugged him again

"I love you Uncle Ben" she said relieved he was okay

"Love you too sweet pea" Ben replied and hugged her back, Maddy smiled at the old nickname he always used to call her when she was little, but inside she was angry at whatever people had hurt him so much at the people whoever they were that had _enhanced_ him when Reynolds came with the water and gave it to Ben who drank as he WAS thirsty, Mark looked at Maddy and she smiled at him which he returned, Ben smiled at the thought that a boy liked her,

"_But that STILL doesn't mean I'm letting up on ya kid_" he thought and looked at Mark sternly, which Mark seemed to pick up on and straightened a bit when Maddy were about to kiss him on the cheek which instead ended up at the corner of his mouth and Mark went scarlet red in the face in front of his CO, Ben had to look the other way and pretend he didn't see it as he had trouble to NOT start laughing,

"_Oh my poor poor brother, looks like your little princess is growing up after all_!_"_ he thought amusingly

"Oh I have to go and tell Mom and Dad and Uncle Kono that you're awake" Maddy blurted out and started walking off

"Don't worry I'll come with ya and show them in person" Ben said but Maddy put on her sternest face and put a hand on his chest

"OH NO you don't, after the treatment YOU got Mom would go nuts if you tried to get up, Mark make sure he stays in bed" she ordered Reynolds, Ben made a sound of incredulity

"Maddy you DO know that I outrank him and can order HIM instead?" Ben replied semi sternly, but Maddy just shook her head,

"No you're OFF duty until Mom says otherwise" she stated sternly

"But….?" Ben tried

"I'm a Shannon woman Uncle Ben" Maddy said as if that was the end of it

"You got a point sweet pea" Ben said, he had learned a long time ago that you do not EVER talk back to a Shannon woman….they never lost an argument.


	15. Darkstar

**Well here's chapter 15 for ya! Warning, angst ahead and some profusely bad language and a possible crossover warning as well but I'll let y'all figure that out on your own.**

**Thanks to doctor anthony for proof read and check out his work including the works of Ayziks.**

When they left the infirmary and walked towards the command centre, it was getting dark outside and people were heading home after the days work, Jim was in deep thought,

"_Why couldn't I have been there for him more? Had I not left for the police academy I WOULD have stopped Dad from beating them….hell I would have thrown him out on his ass_!" he thought angrily, as he walked beside Taylor with Kono flanking the commander's other side,

"I know what you are thinking Sheriff" Taylor said suddenly and broke Jim's thoughts, he turned his head and looked at him

"What do you mean Commander?" he queried

"I'm guessing you're thinking about how you could have prevented what happened to your brother?" Taylor queried and continued "DON'T it won't help either YOU or him with you torturing yourself with all the _what if's_!" Taylor stated deadpan.

When they got up into the office Kono went directly and activated Taylor's computer and activated it and Taylor punched in his personal code, and he looked up Ben Shannon's file immediately and all four watched the files going directly for the video file of Heartbreak valley, Taylor's face was a mask of barely held back anger while Kono was seething just from seeing it again, Jim stared at the screen with Elisabeth had to turn away for the young man on the screen was not the young boy she had once comforted after the death of his mother nor was he the man she had known since then,

After the video file had played Jim was breathing heavily with anger,

"WHAT THE HELL was that, what the HELL did those as holes do to him….to THEM to make them do that?" Jim growled into the air, but was calmed by Elisabeth taking his hand

"There has to be more" Taylor said and searched on Ben's file and came to another encrypted file,

"How many encrypted files could there be in one man's profile anyway?" he mumbled, until he managed to decrypt a file that said

2134 December - Benjamin Shannon Youth Academy recruit, class #13 Leading researcher Henry Radcliff attending researcher Tashaya Radcliff video file first session of retinal conditioning, by order of General Richard Philbrick Youth program overseer

A video started playing of a dimly lit room and with a young man strapped to a chair that looked like a dentist's chair, with some equipment that to Jim looked like a cross between a _ray gun_ and a camera, even the man's head were strapped in, there were three other people in the room one Taylor recognized immediately as his old mentor and _friend_ the two others he didn't recognize at all neither Jim or Elisabeth seemed to recognize any of them until the female _doctor_ Radcliff they both gasped, Kono paused the image,

"Do you know her?" Taylor asked and they both nodded

"THAT'S the woman who came home to us when we were expecting Maddy" Jim said seething with rage "_That woman were so close I could have strangled her, prison be damned_" Jim thought as he felt his blood boiling.

"It was her that took him away from us" Elisabeth choked with tears in her eyes

Taylor pushed play and the file continued, now it zoomed in on the young man in the chair and not unsurprisingly they saw it was Ben still with a clean face devoid of scars, he was fidgeting against the straps on his wrists feet and face but to no avail, Philbrick started talking

"Relax son, we'll help you but you have to help yourself too" Philbrick said and Ben looked up at him

"Why am I here sir?" he asked

"We are going to do a little procedure to condition you to be a better soldier" Tashaya Radcliff said in her British accent that Jim remembered only too well from that day she came to their apartment and informed them that they would either have to abort their unborn child or give her up after birth,

"When can I visit my family again, you promised I could visit them?!" Ben said pleadingly

"That is what we are going to correct, you will be part of a much larger family, the Youth corps, that other family you will barely remember them when we are finished, the Youth corps will be your brothers and sisters now" Philbrick said

"Never, I will NOT, forsake my family" Ben said now defiantly, Taylor couldn't help but be impressed by his stubbornness

"You WILL whether you want to or not" The other scientist that had to be Henry Radcliff said and touched some controls on the dashboard, and a flashing but concentrated beam of light hit into Ben's eyes and he screamed, he seemed to try and shut them but it obviously didn't work, the light went on for a few minutes until doctor Radcliff shut it down,

"Well cadet Shannon what do you have to say about your family now, after they abandoned you?" Philbrick asked

"NO they never abandoned me, I volunteered for this crap" Ben spat back at him

"No you are one of society's unwanted son, your brother gave you up so that he could have a second child, why would he want to take care of you then?" Philbrick taunted

"FUCK YOU" Ben growled at him, Philbrick simply nodded to Radcliff

"Increase the power to 50% Tashaya" Henry said to her, she obeyed with a smile completely devoid of any tender emotions and the light started again and Ben screamed even more, this procedure were repeated a few times until the image changed to Tashaya Radcliff it was another room obviously another video,

"The subject; Benjamin Franklin Shannon is strong, resilient and have been fighting his mental conditioning which is not too strange since there are a few that have enough strength to withstand the effects of the retinal implantation and among them Cadet Shannon seems the strongest, possibly because of the strong feelings for his family which IS unusual these days, that family bonds are that strong to help overcome both mental and physical conditioning" she stated

"after four full sessions in the chair he still clings to the _love_ of his family, of course the subject do not remember the procedure other than as the occasional nightmare, he was taken by the population control at age fifteen just after the birth of his brother James Edward Shannon's _second child_ Madelyn, I shall come back to that in a later note" she continued

"Such a strong boy indeed, I may have to give him _special _attention" she finished smiling and then the image stopped and a line said

PROJECT DARKSTAR CLASSIFIED BLACK OPS – 2144 September, Male subject KIA former member of 13th battalion Corporal Benjamin Shannon. Former Commanding officer Miles Taylor current commanding officer John Williams KIA, Battalion disbanded after taking over 86% casualties

The names of the line made Taylor clench his jaw in anger, his brother Miles had gone off world little over a year after he had gone through the portal, he had even changed his name but Taylor didn't know to what.

Again that woman that Elisabeth now knew only disgust even hate for showed up on screen – Tashaya Radcliff

"The battle of Guantanamo is over with heavy casualties on both sides among the American dead is former Youth corps soldier Benjamin Shannon, though he was declared DOA his brain was still functioning" she said and then smiled,  
and lights came on showing an operating table with the lifeless body of Ben lying on it with a number of tubes and other equipment attached to it,

"It would seem his will to live is stronger than even I thought, subject has suffered extensive damage to several internal organs, said organs will be discarded and we will now perform a procedure that haven't been done on over fifty years….with some more modern techniques of course" she chuckled which had Elisabeth's bile rising,

"We will replace all damaged organs with state of the art cybernetic organs and try to implant nanobots into his blood stream to help with the healing processes, and the bone structure will also be enhanced, his strength and endurance will be greatly enhanced as a result, if his family knew they should be proud that he will continue serving his country even after death" she said leering at the body  
and went forward and caressed his abs, which nearly caused both Kono and Jim to gag,  
and the image changed yet again

"The operation was a success, but as I suspected erasure of his memory did not work as his will and attachment to said family is too strong, it's as if he refuses to give in pure and simple,  
not even the chip could override his mind….well no matter the organization can still use it to keep tabs on him….through me of course, personally I am quite proud of my achievement, Ben Shannon lives, it is remarkable how his body works now, though of course he has been fitted with an Asimov implant making it impossible for him to act against any member of the organization thanks to the chip I placed in his brain" she said, Elisabeth had never felt such anger before in her life,

"We will keep a close eye on him and the other surviving subjects" Tashaya finished proudly and the file ended, Kono was practically a volcano by now ready to blow up, he swore that if he ever got the chance he would rip these people apart for what they had done to his little brother.

"GOD DAMN Frankenstein" Jim exploded and went and punched the wall so hard it made a crack in the wood, Taylor couldn't say he blamed him for his anger, he himself loathed that these _people_ used soldiers like that, this only strengthened his resolve to make Terra Nova work for all, he then turned to see Jim Shannon sitting down in the chair normally Wash would sit in and cover his face and decided to give them some privacy and walked outside,

Elisabeth crouched beside Jim and embraced him she could feel him shaking with despair and sorrow, and when he looked at her his face was a mask of pain and anger

"My little brother has been turned into some science project by some mad scientist" he continued and she could see the tears coming now, Jim was similarly to Ben never one to allow his emotions come up like that, Elisabeth hugged him,

"I was supposed to take care of him instead I practically gave him over to those monsters" he said and covered his face again, all Elisabeth could do was hold him as her own tears fell steadily,

"Jim listen to me, Ben is alive and he is here with us, as long as we are all together and away from those people both he and the rest of us will be safe" she said comfortingly, and Kono were there as well, with tears in his eyes,

"Jimmyboy we will keep an eye on him….not too obvious though – you KNOW how pissed he'd be if he thought we were spying on him" he said almost jokingly and all three chuckled lightly.

Taylor was outside when Wash showed up with a foul look on her face, it had now gotten very dark and the colony were readying itself for sleep

"Where's that no good idiot boyfriend of mine, I'm gonna beat the living crap out of him for slipping sedatives into my tea!" she growled at his unasked question, and before he could give an answer they saw Maddy Shannon come running at them from the infirmary with a happy look on her face, when she saw them she ran up the stairs,

"Commander, lieutenant have you seen my parents?" she huffed happily, Taylor who were still a bit taken aback by Wash's display simply pointed into his office, and Maddy ran inside shouting

"He's awake Mom Dad Uncle Kono he's awake, Uncle Ben is awake" she continued shouting excitedly until Elisabeth took her by the shoulders to calm her down, Jim and Kono rose and Maddy not waiting turned on her heel and led them back down the stairs and over the plaza and to the infirmary, Taylor followed as well accompanied by an astounded Washington,

"Sir with the beating he got he shouldn't be conscious for another day at least" Alicia said

"I'll tell you about it later Wash" Taylor replied

When they got to the infirmary and saw Ben sitting and glaring at a very uncomfortable Reynolds, when he saw them he smirked at the look in their faces

"What are you all so gob smacked for? I've gotten worse beatings than this from dad" he said smirking but then saw the look in Jim's and Elisabeth's faces and frowned,

"Okay is there something I should know?" they said nothing as they both rushed to his side and both hugged him and he started feeling awkward

"Okay what did I do to deserve all this cuddling?" Ben queried as if nothing ever happened

"Were just happy to see you weren't too brain damaged Bennyboy" Kono replied as he himself teasingly prodded the side of Ben's head with his finger which made Ben growl playfully at him

"So can I please get out of this infernal bed then?" Ben pleaded but Elisabeth shook her head

"No Ben you will stay the night at least and you will NOT leave this bed until I say otherwise!" Elisabeth said sternly and Ben gave her a mock salute

"Yes MA'AM" he said, but looked over at Taylor anyway who simply put up his hands

"Don't look at me son, I know better than to argue with Doc Shannon, even Wash could potentially take me off duty if she thought I was not fit enough" he admonished

"Okay then but I'll be out of here by tomorrow" Ben stated resolutely

"You may leave when I decide that you can Ben" Elisabeth stated and stared him down and Ben just couldn't match since he was still a bit dizzy,

"Alright Liz, but don't keep me in here too long" Ben said trying to get the last word and then looked awkward when Elisabeth started examining him

"Do you feel any dizziness or headache?" she queried going into doctor mode

"A little dizziness, the headache is from all the questions, and I KNOW you all know something" he said

"What do you mean?" Jim said innocently and Ben simply raised an eyebrow at him

"Because you have the worst poker face EVER when you are holding something from me" Ben stated deadpan

Taylor looked at this young man he had put in his security force,

"_Well at least I know why I had to resort to tricks in order to beat him in the sparring match_" he thought, true Taylor had won very barely – at the end of the match Taylor had been getting tired almost exhausted while Ben seemed able to go on for another hour without so much as a rest,

"_Had we not been fighting with points and to the first knockout I think he would've beaten me_" Taylor thought again smirking at the thought of how Reynolds would feel getting knocked down to third place in the colony – and by the uncle of the girl he's begun to court no less, he smirked at the thought.

After Elisabeth and Maddy had literally tucked Ben in – to Ben's embarrassment of course especially since Jim, Kono and even that old geezer Taylor were having serious troubles controlling their grinning at his discomfort, but he WAS feeling weak and tired still.

Taylor took Elisabeth and Jim aside where the rest couldn't overhear,

"So that chip, can you remove it?" Taylor asked

"Not with the equipment we currently possess it is situated too far into his brain, it is likely to kill him or worse turn him into a vegetable" Elisabeth said shrugging

"BUT I could try and deactivate it using ultrasound, it's a long shot but it's all we have" she said

"What about the _Asimov_ thing then?" Jim asked concerned

"I don't even know where to look for what Jim, this is illegal procedures all together" she said despondently

"It is like something from out of World war two by the _Angel of Death_" Taylor said

"Angel of death?" Jim queried

"They apparently don't teach you enough in school these days, sheriff, the _Angel of death _was the nickname of the top Nazi scientist doctor Josef Mengele, he performed numerous illegal procedures on POW's and non combatants alike" he explained

"Without his government's knowledge I'm guessing" Jim said sarcastically

"Not at all, he was highly funded and it looks like someone has reactivated the old Darkstar project OR it were never cancelled in the first place….at least not completely" Taylor finished

"We should tell Ben about this" Elisabeth demanded

"Like what that he's a lab experiment?" Jim asked angrily

"I'm inclined to say no doc" Taylor said sternly

"This is his life, he deserves to know what's been done to him" Elisabeth retorted angrily

"I'll leave to you two then" Taylor relented

"Though I have to ask, have he ever acted threateningly with you two or the children?" Taylor asked and hated himself for even asking such a question – but it needed to be asked

"HELL no Ben have never even raised his voice to the kids OR us, He'd rather die than harm or allow harm to come to the kids – ANY kids" Jim exclaimed and Taylor was inclined to agree after having seen how the girl Leah had acted around Ben Shannon, it was as if children instinctively felt secure around him,  
"_That such a dangerous man can be so different with kids_" Taylor thought and smiled to himself after having seen how Ben berated a couple of soldiers Curran and Foster and then switch and goof around with some kids only a few moments later,

"I'm very inclined to agree on that sheriff, plus the files we saw according to the people trying to…._brainwash_ him said that it failed because of his attachment to his family – your family, plus I've seen how your kids and Leah Marcos seems to completely adore him" Taylor said calmly

"Speaking of, where is Leah Marcos by the way?" he asked

"Last I saw she went back to the house with Zoe and Josh watching over them" Elisabeth answered

"And Josh is probably fuming as we speak that he can't be out somewhere causing trouble instead of taking responsibility" Jim huffed disappointed at how Josh behaved almost all the time unlike Maddy who always did her chores and as she was asked to do without fuss

**That's for chapter 15 please leave some reviews so I can improve (And feel a little smug)**


	16. Doing what is Right

**Ok THIS chapter will be a bit brighter. Thanks to both doctor anthony and Ayziks for their continued support.**

At the Shannon breakfast table the next morning after hearing that Ben had woken up Zoe, Leah and even Josh were excited, Maddy felt sick that she knew something that her siblings did not….something important and she wanted to know more, she remembered there were some more encrypted files she could try and unlock maybe she could help Ben, she felt guilty for not saying anything to her parents about eavesdropping – unintentional yes but still….Ben had always been there for her and her siblings almost like an extra dad.

"Terra Nova to Maddy?" Josh blared at her snapping her out of her thoughts,

"What?" she queried

"I said; I, Zoe and Leah could come with you today to visit Uncle Ben" Josh said and looked at her with that teasing grin that she hated when he did,

"Okay I guess, but after that it's straight to school for these two" she replied and pointed at Zoe and Leah, which made Jim and Elisabeth smile at Maddy

"Yay" Zoe squealed excitedly and Leah looked happy too

Later after breakfast Maddy and her siblings together with Leah walked toward the infirmary,

Elisabeth had already gone to the infirmary together with Jim and Commander Taylor and were talking with him when Kono came in with Ben's knife, he had tried holding in the hilt but had gotten a mild zap every time plus he could never activate the vibro function,

"Hey Bennyboy, ya forgot your knife at the house yesterday, and I think there's something wrong with it, I can't activate the vibro function on it AND the damn thing keeps zapping me whenever I hold at the hilt" Kono stated,

"That's because I had a genetic locking mechanism installed on it so that only I could use it properly unless they have my DNA more or less" Ben replied

"DNA huh? Then I guess it should work for me" Jim said and grabbed the knife and yelped in surprise when he DID get zapped,

"I've heard about those mechanisms it only works for the person with the exact same DNA as it has been programmed with or a direct family member" Taylor said

"Direct family member?" Jim and Kono asked in unison

"His children would be direct family to Ben" Elisabeth explained

"Good thing I don't have any then" Ben stated deadpan

"Now what was you wanted to talk to me about that is so important I'm missing my sponge-bath?" he asked with mock humor he didn't trust doctors except for Elisabeth off course, and to have one touching him in any way felt almost repugnant to him,

They started by showing him the images on the scanner, at first he simply looked at it and then,

"I'm no doctor now but why does my heart look so….weird and why do I have three lungs?" Ben queried

"Those are cybernetic organs Ben" Elisabeth explained

"What? I have no memory of having any surgery of THAT kind?" Ben exclaimed, and then Elisabeth started to explain about the other implants at first all Ben did was stare at them as if they had gone completely nuts,

"You ever heard of project Darkstar son?" Taylor asked

"Yes sir, it's like a military version of an urban legend we used to joke around about in the barracks when I was at the academy and during the wars" Ben replied

"Well it's NOT an urban legend Sergeant, as you have had several organs replaced with cybernetic ones and have some chips implanted in your brain" Taylor continued

Ben touched his head as if to try and get to the chip,

"When did this happen?" he asked anxiously

"In Cuba after the battle of Guantanamo….where you died" Elisabeth said almost choking on the words

"I died? Well I feel really healthy for a corpse then?" Ben exclaimed

"Yes and you were resurrected using several illegal techniques" Elisabeth explained again Ben was about to retort when Taylor raised his hand

"We also saw your files both during and after your academy days" he said

"I want to see those files sir" Ben demanded

"Later Ben first there is this business of that chip in your brain, I can try and deactivate it by using ultrasound"

"Deactivate? Take the damn thing out" Ben demanded but she shook her head

"It's too far inside your brain; if I had the right equipment then I could do it, if I tried to now the procedure is likely to kill you and I will NOT risk that" Elisabeth stated sternly

"Do what you can then Liz, but hurry up and do it quickly because I want to get out of this damn infirmary before I sprout an extra head or something after all these revelations" Ben scoffed

"Though what does all this mean about the cybernetic organs?" he then queried

"Well you most likely have greater endurance and strength thanks to the heart being able to pump adrenaline at levels that would be lethal to normal humans and your bone structure seems at least partly comprised of tissues and materials I have never seen before, and that is only the start of it" Elisabeth explained

"In short Bennyboy, YOU are a Darkstar bionic warrior" Kono chuckled always trying to lift the mood

Ben looked absolutely dumbstruck

"Great I'm like one of those cyber zombies from that ridiculous TV show!?" Ben huffed

"No Ben what has been done to you was an atrocity BUT we're grateful for the miracle that you're alive" Jim declared sternly and put his hand on Ben's shoulder which Ben patted,

"Thanks Jim" he said with an almost blank look as if he was thinking.

"Let's just see if we can take care of the chip now shall we?" Elisabeth said trying to smile

After the others had gone to more urgent matters except for Kono who was still trying to avoid the wrath of Alicia Washington after that prank about the sedatives in her tea,

Maddy, Josh, Zoe and Leah came in and headed directly for Ben and Zoe started fussing over him immediately

"Uncle Ben are you okay, I heard you got hurt in the head" Ben laughed

"Yeah but don't you worry none Giggles, your old Uncle has a pretty hard head" he replied

"Yeah the term bonehead would apply" Josh stated with a smirk and shook Ben's hand

"Want to head butt and find out Josh?" Ben grinned at him

"No thank Uncle Ben I don't want a concussion" Josh chuckled

"Oh and Uncle Kono, I saw your girlfriend outside, I think she's looking for ya" Josh continued with a grin

"Did she huh say anything?" Kono queried

"I couldn't make out, she was speaking some foreign language" Josh replied now grinning as he heard a few of the less than civil words Alicia had used about her mate,

"Okay I better go and _talk _to her" Kono said and put the knife he was holding by its sheath clumsily on the nearest table and ran out of the infirmary, the knife laid on the edge of the table before it dropped to the floor and Josh picked it up and started examining it Ben had never allowed anyone to even touch it and it took one second before Josh realized one reason for it as he yelped from the zap he got and dropped it clattering to the floor again, Maddy picked it up and put it back on the table

"What's wrong with you?" she asked

"The damn thing zapped me" Josh exclaimed

"A security measure to make sure no one but me can use it at least not without a whole lot of stinging electro-shock treatment" Ben said as he turned around from goofing around with Zoe

"Sorry I won't touch it again" Josh assured

"Good because it is dangerous kiddo" Ben said deadpan, and then Elisabeth came in and shoed the kids including Josh away,

"Maddy I need your help with a patient over here" she said and Maddy walked away with her mother, leaving Ben alone with his thoughts

"_Any more fucked up craziness from the man upstairs?_" he thought thinking about the mornings revelations when he saw Maddy running past looking absolutely green in the face followed by Elisabeth,

"Maddy what's wrong?" he shouted but she had already run out of the infirmary

After half an hour Elisabeth came back and started prepping for the ultrasonic treatment that might deactivate that chip in his head,

"What's wrong with Maddy?" he asked worriedly

"She may not be made for the medical profession after all" she stated

"Why?" Ben asked

"She seems to have problems with the more gruesome parts of the job" Elisabeth said with a sad smile

"So that's why she came running through here looking like she was about to throw up?" he asked

"Sadly yes so I dismissed her from the internship" she replied

"She's the smartest person I know so she will probably go to the science department then" Ben said matter of factually which made Elisabeth smile at him for his confidence in Maddy.

"You have a lot of faith in the children" Elisabeth said as she was finishing the preparations, she wanted to do this personally without anyone else present, she were worried how people would react if or when this finally came out.

"You know Ben you'd make a wonderful father one day" she said and he just stared at her

"Liz please, I'm not father material and it doesn't matter how much I'd like to, Jim is the better man here, not me" Ben stated with conviction, Elisabeth frowned

"Ben you ARE a good man one of the four best men I know" she said almost angrily at Ben's self loathing "_He has NO reason to hate himself like this, If he had someone he would realize that_" she thought and started the procedure and after minutes that felt like hours to Ben it was over and Liz looked satisfied

"That should do it I'm just going to scan to see if the chip is still active" she said after another few BORING minutes she smiled brightly

"There, it's done Ben" she said

"Good can I please get out of this friggin bed now?" Ben pleaded

"Yes you are discharged from the infirmary but you are STILL off duty for at least another day after which You'll come here for a last check up before I will authorize you to go back to duty" she replied with a voice and look that left NO room for argument as Ben started getting up and dressing quickly after having shoed her away to preserve what dignity he had left, she turned around laughing, Ben still felt some pain from his injuries and winced when he stood up to pull on his uniform,

"Thanks Liz" he then said again looking as brooding as ever before Elisabeth took him by the shoulder

"Ben all this doesn't change who you are you know" she stated, but he just shrugged

"It means that I should have died – that I DID die in Cuba….I've cheated death so many times Liz that I should practically be on Death's shit list by now!" he replied, Elisabeth moved in and hugged him before he could evade

"I meant what I said Ben you ARE a good man don't let what others have done to you in the past destroy you, and you have us here for you" she said and Ben smiled slightly

"Thanks again" he said and turned and left

Ben walked out of the infirmary and just happened to see Maddy walking off toward the market and wouldn't have thought more off it when he also saw Reynolds coming from another direction and walked up to meet him as he noticed Reynolds looked sad,

"Why do you look so sad Reynolds?" Ben asked and Reynolds turned to him and gave him a look of despair

"I asked Sheriff Shannon if I could court his daughter….Miss Shannon I mean your niece" Reynolds huffed out

"Okay, why don't you tell me exactly what he said" Ben retorted

"He said, that he's got a gun have a quick temper and have a tendency to carry grudges" Reynolds retold the words Sheriff Shannon had told him, Ben smiled

"Well that does NOT mean he forbade you from courting her rather warning you of what might happen if you do something stupid with her" Ben said sternly but had trouble keeping a straight face

"What do you think I should do sir?" Reynolds asked as if Ben had all the answers

"Well I just saw her going toward the market my advice is you go and ask her and see what SHE wants that is the most important thing" Ben answered

"Right now sir?"

"No next year, what the hell did I just say or am I talking to myself here" Ben said mock sternly, and when Reynolds stood there looking after and now seeing Maddy in the distance, Ben rolled his eyes

"Well are you going to shout it out from here or are you going after her to ask her?" Mark didn't need any more encouragement and took off

"Lovesick moron" Ben grumbled

"Good to see you're back on your feet there Ben" Jim said as he was approaching the infirmary and then turned to see what it was that Ben was looking at and seeing what it was narrowed his eyes and were about to march after until Ben stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder,

"Jim you are NOT thinking of doing what I think you are?" Ben asked

"She's too young for this and that guy is clearly only taking advantage of her" Jim huffed annoyingly

"I'm sorry big brother but that's bullshit, I've watched these two and I believe Reynolds is as honorable as they come, he'd chuck himself over a cliff rather than allow her to get hurt, all they need is a little supervision to make sure but NOT by you since you have a rare ability to embarrass people" Ben said sternly

"I do not" Jim said

"OH NO? Do you remember Penny Stark when I brought her home?" Ben said accusingly, Penny had been the first and only time Ben had brought someone home and Jim had asked her a bunch of stupid questions totally embarrassing Ben and even Elisabeth had later berated him about it,

"Look I SAID I was sorry about that didn't I?" Jim realized he had already lost the argument and changed the subject,

"Can you keep an eye on them for now at least?" Jim asked meekly

"Sure I've been _ordered_ by Liz to stay off duty for another friggin day so yeah I could do it" Ben said and not one to stand around started off after Reynolds and Maddy with Jim at first standing there huffing but then continuing on to the work Commander Taylor had tasked him with before the Commander called him on the com apparently there had been a break in into the house of the McMillen's.

Maddy was walking between the stands in the market picking out wares for the day and putting them into her basket when Mark came up beside her,

"Hey Miss Shannon, what are you doing?" Mark asked nervously

"Just picking up some things for dinner later" she said and paid the vendor

None of them noticed Ben coming and standing no more than a few yards away at another stand trying to look inconspicuous – and the vendor seemed to pick up on it and watched him suspiciously

"I'd like to ask you something" Mark said and shuffled his feet trying to follow Maddy as she walked between the stalls but trying to not appear TOO obvious plus he was nervous,

Maddy walked to another stall and started checking some vegetables; Mark was now scared out of his wits but decided on just to do it already,

"_Here goes nothing_" he thought and straightened up and declared with the steadiest voice he could;

"I would like to declare my intentions for you Maddy Shannon!" he blurted out and people started looking at him,

Maddy at first didn't register what he said but then turned around with an incredulous look on her face "You want to do WHAT to me?" she said more than a bit startled and also wondering what he meant, Mark approached her and she looked up at him unsurely,

Ben was watching and thinking "_Don't lose your nerve now kid_"

Mark stood for a few seconds and opened and closed his mouth trying to say something and then;

"To court you" he declared,

Maddy looked a little confused and then started slowly realizing what it was he were trying to say

"What like a date?" she queried and a hesitant smile started gracing her lips,

"Well why didn't you just say so?!" Maddy said blushing as people were clearly staring at them smirking this felt embarrassing – but in a good way if ever there were one, Mark now seemed less nervous and more emboldened, "_How come I can face down slashers and carnos but can't seem to do anything else than sound like a complete moron when talking to this girl?" _he thought

"That's not how it's done, according to Commander Taylor I have to address you in a certain way and then come calling at your house, and then ask your father for permission, after that take you to an event outside the home that may be pleasing to you" Mark blurted out almost rambling and Ben simply face palmed himself,  
during all this Maddy was smiling nervously at Mark she could never have guessed in a million years that a boy would even want to hear her talk much less want to _ask her out_, Mark almost looked like the proverbial knight that just slew the equally proverbial monster as he seemed to calm down somewhat,

"This is how they did it in the past" Mark said

"Actually it's how they WILL do it in the future since it has not happened yet from our perspective and also the ladies will be wearing corsets" Maddy rambled out, Mark could not believe that this girl hadn't been spoken for in 2149 she was perfect in any way and she knew all these things he had trouble even remembering the names of,

"So may I have the honor?" he instead asked

At the words and the puppy like look in Mark's face Maddy truly swooned, further down Ben sighed deeply "_FINALLY_" he thought,

"YES" Maddy said excited,

"So you're okay then?" Mark asked with adorable smile of his that made her want to cover his face with kisses – the thought made her blush even more,

"Yeah after the circumstances for I had the most weirdest day ever first I almost puked on a patient in front of my mother and–"she stared before Mark; "Why don't you start from the beginning….I've got time" he said and offered her his arm, she blushed and smiled even more before she took it and started telling him of the day's events – she did not tell him about the revelations about Ben though.

Ben was pretending as if he was invisible when they suddenly stopped at the exact same stall he was at with that Iranian guy Aurang he remembered his name was Ben remembered him because the guy just COULDN'T shut up,

Mark and Maddy stopped in front of Aurang and didn't so much as look at his wares as they were looking at each other which Aurang obviously could see clearly and he clapped his hands together in a praying gesture

"Ah young love, do I not know it when I see it….Praise be to God and the good prophet" He exclaimed in a somewhat Middle Eastern accent, Maddy almost looked like a tomato by now and Mark was not far behind

"Oh sir we're just err courting right now" Mark said nervously and looked at Maddy who nodded still blushing heavily

"OOH I have a very good eye for these things and on you beautiful young maiden and on you BIG strong and courageous soldier I give all my blessings and those of god as well, as the good prophet says _Do unto others as you would have them do unto YOU_" Aurang rambled out

"Did Jesus or Mohammad say that?" Mark wondered not wanting to offend the man by naming the _wrong prophet_

"No not any of them but Zarathustra" Aurang answered

"I tell you what, If you young soldier like to purchase one of my delicious beetle kebabs I'll give you two extra which makes three for the price of one….just because you two look so divinely beautiful together so one for you both and one for SNEAKY soldier trying to act as if he cannot be seen at all by my eagle vision!" Aurang rambled and the last was directed at the well grown man standing almost beside Mark and Maddy, Maddy recognized her uncle almost immediately

"Uncle Ben, were you following us?" she said semi accusingly, and Ben turned around with a very guilty look in his face and glaring at Aurang

"No….not really anyway" he tried to look a little more imposing but that façade apparently was evaporating quickly, and Maddy started laughing, Mark loved hearing her laugh it sounded so wonderful when she did,

"So Reynolds are ya going to by those beetle kebabs because I'm starving" Ben said trying to save face, and Maddy giggled even more as Ben winked at her.

A few minutes later when Ben took a walk to the command centre when he saw Leah Marcos being led out of Taylor's office by Reilly and a few minutes later Jim came walking out and went straight for the _EYE_ Ben decided to follow when he came in he saw Jim studying maps,

"And what are you doing?" Ben asked and Jim almost hopped

"DAMN IT Ben, why do you DO that?" Jim growled at him

"Do what?" Ben asked puzzled

"THAT sneak right on me without as much as a sound, you've been doing that for years" Jim said accusingly Ben just shrugged and ignored it

"Never mind that, now I'd to know what you are up to?" he asked again, and Jim filled him in about Leah's brother out there, and the mysterious box they had found had been hidden under the floor in one of the colony houses

"Those brutes have another kid out there? But you're sure she may not be lying? Ben asked angrily and immediately winced at the pain again,

"What is the Commander going to do about it?" he asked ignoring Jim's worried look at him

"Nothing right now it seems he's having a hard time even believing her" Jim replied

"So I'm going to go out there and get him" Jim declared deadpan

"And I will be coming with you" Ben declared just as seriously but Jim shook his head

"NO you are NOT Ben, you are still injured, don't think that I didn't notice that you're still in pain" he ordered

"I'm going with you to make sure YOU don't get yourself killed moron" Ben growled at him and they had one of their usual staring matches until someone cleared his throat

"If you two are going to have that staring match we'll be here until the next age" Kono stated and Jim and Ben turned around

"Two is better than one and three is a lot better than two, though I'd agree with Jimmyboy there Bennyboy you are still injured" Ben scoffed

"I'm just a little stiff" he lied

"Besides none of you two have ever done any operations behind enemy lines have you?!" he then said both Jim and Kono shook their heads

"Good then let's stop all this bitching around and get the job done shall we" he finished

The others nodded and they all started getting ready Jim checked the maps while Kono went to the storeroom and got a couple of pulse rifles and some other equipment, while Ben went and _borrowed _ a rover,

Some moments later when it was darkening outside they exited the eastern gate and headed toward what according to the maps Jim had checked on Leah's pleading should be the site of the sixer's camp, with Kono driving and Jim checking the maps and Ben riding shotgun

"Where did you get the rover Bennyboy" Kono asked

"I borrowed it from the science department" Ben answered simply, Jim then saw the name on the steering wheel and chuckled, it said _Doctor Wallace_,

"Why do I get the idea it was not all that voluntary?" Jim chuckled

"He won't miss it until in the morning anyway" Ben stated

"Though you two will most likely get into trouble because of this" Jim said worried

"I'm of duty and anything I do during that time as long as it doesn't endanger the colony or break any military protocols is my own business" Ben stated

"Pretty much the same here more or less" Kono said the others looked at him, Jim with a grin

"Plus I'm trying to keep away from Alicia right now" he continued

Jim laughed at it he had heard about the _sedatives in the tea prank_.

When they got to an area Jim had marked on the map they stopped and dismounted and started searching around until Ben heard something snap over form where Jim was looking and started jogging off into that direction he then heard a sonic weapons discharge after a few minutes, when he finally got there he could see Jim hanging upside down from what looked like a vine rope and a raptor lying in some bushes nearby and also saw Kono behind some bushes about to step out when they both heard something moving through the undergrowth and after a few seconds Carter moved into the clearing accompanied by two more of those damn rebels, Ben saw that Carter was about to strike Jim when his instinct took over and he first fired his weapon at the sixer to Carter's right,  
and then charged into the clearing and as if taking the hint Kono quickly ran out as well and knocked the other sixer out and both were pointing their weapons at Carter who looked completely surprised,

When the other sixers came to the questions started and of course all three refused and Ben without so much as a word tied them all up back to back in the middle of the clearing while Ben with the help from the others tied up a leash for the raptor and secured it to a tree using the vine rope from the sixer trap,

"Now sixers, we come to the heart of the matter and since you refused to speak to my brothers here so I'm just going to leave you here for munchies here to chew on" Ben said and left with the others

After a while the raptor started waking up and hissed when it saw the helpless take-out dinner just sitting there, and started tugging at the rope which slowly gave in and it got nearer and nearer to the three now very anxious men,

"Okay I'll talk" the two other sixers cried out

And just as the raptor managed to break the vine it got hit by a sonic blast….again deprived of an easy meal, and Ben, Jim and Kono came out of the jungle,

"Just untie us and we'll talk, I'm NOT dying for that crazy bastard" Carter snarled

Carter and the others gave information on where Sam Marcos were as Kono got back and drove the rover a bit closer to the clearing and Jim stood guard while Ben booby trapped Carter and the other two sixers with a live grenade taped to Carter's mouth, after he had contacted Mira on his com

"Just in case Mira gets any ideas" Ben said in a low ominous tone and went off into the jungle towards the sixer camp now that he knew WHERE to look,

Jim and Kono didn't have to wait long before Mira and a few more sixers came out of the jungle,

"Just the two of ya?" Mira sneered

"No boss there's another guy somewhere around here be careful he's a real semper psycho" one of the tied up sixers blurted out nervously, and Mira shrugged

"So I'm guessing you're here for the boy?" she said and looked at the small string attached to the grenade in Carter's mouth,

When Ben got to the supposed camp he looked around and upwards and saw a small number of tree houses but reasoned this couldn't be the main camp since it felt more like an outpost a sixer version of it,  
he saw light coming from one of the houses and used the climbing equipment that was in the rover he threw the rope with the grappling hook up into an adjacent tree and it fastened around a thick branch and he started climbing up it,  
he prowled as silently as he could using the branches for cover and hid at an outcropping branch where he had a good view of the entire _outpost_, there seemed to be very few guards one that patrolled the perimeter and another that guarded the house with the light coming out of it, as soon as the patrolling guard was near enough, even though Ben had taken a few pain killers it still hurt to move but he came up from behind the sixer and knocked him out with a swift punch at the back of his neck he went down with a grunt,

"Mike you taking a leak again?" the house guard queried and looked at the direction of the grunt sound and didn't notice or even hear when Ben climbed over the house and landed almost right on top of him….hard, a third sixer came out of the house and pulled a knife Ben sent a jump kick into the man's groin and he went down with a very familiar sigh,

"Not again" the _poor_ man whined before Ben hit him square in the face and he was out, and then entered the house and saw something that made the anger and hate that rivaled that he felt for his father and made him want to torture every last one of these rebels to death, in a corner sat and shivered a boy that couldn't be any older than Zoe he had what might be blonde hair in a complete mess and he was dirty,

"Are you Sam Marcos" he asked and the boy nodded, "It's okay kid, I'm going to get you out of here and take you to your sister Leah" he said reassuringly instead, the boy seemed to brighten up considerably and he looked confident enough with Ben so Ben approached and noticed that the fingers on his right hand had been broken as if someone hat struck him with a stick, Ben's anger threatened to bubble up to the surface and it was all he could do to control it, his own father had done that to him when he was nine as a punishment for dropping one of the bastards precious bottles of scotch, Ben picked him up gently and they walked back to the entrance and Ben saw some ropes, Ben picked Sam up and held him tight to his chest so that the boy could hold on around Ben's neck with his good arm and grabbed the rope Ben had gloves on but this would still be painful, plus the fact that the painkillers seemed to be wearing off quickly

"_Must be that bio-enhanced body chemistry of mine_" he thought sarcastically

"Okay kid just hold on tight" Ben said and slid down the rope with and with a groan of pain hit the ground as he could feel his ribs hadn't completely healed yet and sliding down the rope tore through the glove and left the skin on his hand a bloody mess,

The boy was still too weak to walk much less run himself so Ben held him tight as he ran as fast as he could through the jungle wanting to avoid sounding the dinner bell to any carnivore that might be out looking for a good meal and a dessert,

At the clearing Kono and Jim could only hope Ben would show up soon as they were running out of bluffing arguments with Mira who was beginning to suspect something was very wrong, When Ben had announced he would go alone to the camp Jim and Kono had thrown a fit but he assured them that he would move a lot faster alone – a statement of fact according to him.

"So we are just going to stand around here until you turn the boy over or I will pull this string" Kono said

"And I don't believe you Lao, you morons follow rules and would not simply murder someone in cold blood like that" Mira stated

"Or are this just you two playing good cop bad cop?" she continued

"They might be good cop bad cop butt I'm neither" Ben said deadpan as he stepped out of the jungle with and putting Sam into the rover Mira and her thugs started raising their weapons

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Mira, there's a pack of raptors heading this way probably wondering what happened to their buddy here" he said and they could all hear the characteristically shout or barking noise that raptors made,

"You really don't want to be here for that Mira" Kono growled though quietly he wished she could but started backing off following Ben and Jim to the rover and making sure that they were not followed,

Ben turned around and faced Mira

"I left your thugs alive in that camp of your….THIS time – next time I won't be so nice" he growled and as Jim started the rover and Kono kept his rifle aimed at Mira he jumped in and made sure that Sam were there as well Jim floored it and they sped off toward the colony, leaving Mira cursing after them while she removed the grenade and slapped Carter in the face

"MORON" she snapped, when the sixer got back to their outpost Carter just stared at the men that was supposed to guard it rubbing their heads or in one case still sitting and holding at his groin and Carter felt with him "_OUCH_" he thought and then Mira walked up to him

"We have to abandon this outpost and get back to the main camp" she said and looked around

"This guy that did this is the same one that sent four of our guys to the infirmary" Carter said

"Looks like Taylor's got some Special Forces soldier, an airborne commando or US Ranger or something" she stated, still remembering the man's steel grey eyes and the threat in them and she shivered in a fear she hadn't felt in years and THEN it was when she had come face to face with a carno for the first time "_This man had the look of a predator, and he just marked his territory_" she thought even though she couldn't - didn't WANT to believe Taylor would bring such a _beast_ to Terra Nova!

When the three men and the boy drove inside the eastern gate they found Taylor waiting for them with less than a happy face

"Alright which one of you three has the best excuse for going AWOL this night?" he growled but calmed down when he saw the little boy Ben was carrying,

"So she WAS telling the truth, but that still doesn't excuse you two at least"

"Well technically sir both Kono and Ben are off duty and we decided on taking a little trip outside to check for that sixer outpost and we found it" Jim said

"But they've most likely abandoned by now" he continued, Taylor the noticed the condition that both Sam and Ben were in

"And YOU shouldn't even be out of the gates at all" he berated the younger man that was favoring his left side ribcage and right hand

"Sir if it hadn't been for Ben we might not even have found the place, not to mention Sam here" Kono said as a medic came and carried the now sleeping Sam Marcos toward the infirmary and Taylor got on his com and told them to release Leah and bring her to the infirmary, and then turned to these three heroic idiots,

"Sir it WAS Lieutenant Lao that kept Mira talking, and it WAS Jim's idea and his plan" Ben said

"But it was Ben that went and got the boy all by himself, and it Was the right thing to do sir" Kono stated

Commander Nathaniel Taylor simply looked at them and by now had trouble keeping a straight face,

"Well boys I hate to interrupt this _Mutual admiration society_ you three seems to have going here, I SHOULD be very angry and have you three clapped in irons, or possibly give y'all medals for bravery and extreme stupidity, OR possibly both" he said and then started laughing,

"Does that mean we're off the hook then Commander?" Jim asked, Taylor nodded

"It does, and I may have to start ordering a shit load of medals at the next pilgrimage if this is how you three are going to behave" he chuckled

"You are dismissed" he then said, Kono and Ben stood at attention and saluted though Ben with some difficulty since by now he was visibly in pain so Jim and Kono caught him before he could double over,

"Alright get him to the infirmary and, sergeant you're off duty for at least a week" Taylor added as Jim and Kono on either side got Ben to the infirmary,

"Sir about those files?" Ben started

"We'll talk about that in the morning son" Taylor said and looked after the three men that in the short time he'd known them he had started building up more than a little respect for,

"_I should be sorry for those sixers with these three around_" he thought and walked to his office,

When they got to the infirmary Leah was there and when she saw them she ran straight into Ben's arms and he huffed slightly in pain but smiled at her

"Thank you" she whispered with tear streaked eyes, and then proceeded to hug both Jim and Kono,

When Elisabeth saw in what state Ben was in at first gave him a good piece of her mind berating him for a few moment before ordering both Jim and Kono to place him on a biobed.

"Home sweet home" Ben muttered as Elisabeth kept on berating him for NOT following her orders to stay OUT of trouble

"Ben you will be off duty for at least a week or until I give you permission to go or do otherwise even if I have to keep you in this infirmary or in the house" she scolded him and then started on Jim and Kono for allowing him out in the first place and all three looked like puppy dogs getting berated.


	17. Dark Revelations

**THIS chapter will be the darkest and probably most angst ridden one I've written so far.  
In the episode "Bylaw" Maddy seemed almost shell-shocked this is my own little twist as to why.  
Implications of war crimes and twisted medical experiments  
and some heavy angst as well as some hints to sexual harassment so you've been warned.  
And for the inspiration and support I give thanks to doctor anthony and Ayziks. But also Fallensurvivor since she is one of the very best at writing angst stories.  
I recommend you read their stories. And thanks to doctor anthony for letting me borrow his OC's Tashaya and Henry Radcliff and Kono Lao.  
Slight crossover warning.**

When Ben awoke he was even stiffer than he had been the day before, but decided to go to the command centre and talk to Taylor about those files,

"Hey Nurse, can I go to the Commander's office?" he asked the nurse _Ogawa_ he thought her name was

"Sergeant I was told that the Commander as well as doctor Shannon and Sheriff Shannon will be here to pick you up shortly, until then you have been ordered by both the Commander and Doctor Shannon to stay in the bed" She said

"When will they come then?" he asked

"No more than a few hours, now stay there and rest even heroes' need their beauty sleep" she said with a smile, and Ben cringed at the word _hero_

Ben huffed but did as he was told, and then he saw Reilly come in and when she saw him she walked over to him smiling,

"Well sir it looks whenever I see you you're either shut inside some cupboard or getting your ass whooped" she teased and sat down on the bed

"Hello to you too Reilly, plus I didn't get my ass whooped this time" Ben retorted

"not to mention doing one heroism after the other I've been told, that stunt you pulled yesterday has been the talk about the barracks all morning" she stated and Ben huffed again

"I just did what anyone would have done" Ben said defensively

"Well and the fact that some idiots managed to found out about your actions in both Somalia and Cuba, so be prepared for some serious hero worship from them" Reilly said admiringly and Ben just looked at her

"I'm no hero Reilly, just an asshole that's become really good at cheating Death at the expense of others usually" Ben said regretfully, Reilly simply touched his hand

"Well and the female soldiers have been talking about a wager" she said mischievously

"A wager?"

"To see which one of us that gets you in the sack first" she explained

"WHAT?" Ben asked befuddled

"Well why not sir, you're built like a tank and seem to be strong as an ox, a lot of the female soldiers are wondering on how you're hung" she said, and Ben just stared at her and blinked several times

"So you might guaranteed get more action than Lieutenant Lao especially from what I've heard about some prank with sedatives in Lieutenant Washington's tea" she chuckled even Ben had to grin about that one,

"Well sir I need to get back to my shift, you get some rest now" she said and got up and left

Maddy and Mark was walking through the orchards holding hands, Maddy was still in a sort of pleasant shock, she couldn't believe this gorgeous boy had actually asked her out, that he wanted to date….no to court her the very word itself brought up images of valiant knights in shining armor rescuing damsels in distress and wooing ladies,

"Mark why do you want to court me, I mean I know it's the rules and such but why me?" she asked shyly, and he looked at her with those amazingly beautiful eyes and smiled that smile at her that made her knees weak,

"Because that is how a lady is supposed to be treated, and I like you Maddy, I like everything about you" he said deadpan

"But there HAS to be other girls, girls that don't ramble the way I do, girls that are beautiful?" Maddy asked nervously

"Maddy, you are the smartest and most kindest girl I've ever met and that _rambling_ I found to be one of your most endearing traits, and you ARE the most beautiful girl in this or ANY time stream….on either side of the portal" Mark stated matter of factually and Maddy couldn't speak as she was swooning and blushing heavily, a few feet further away some of the agricultural workers smiled as they obviously heard the couple speaking,

"So how's your uncle – I mean Sergeant Shannon doing?" Mark asked "He didn't look so good yesterday after that bit of heroism!" He finished, Maddy giggled at his stumbling over words

"He aggravated his injuries but Mom says he'll be fine in a week or so" Maddy said

"He's very resilient, I heard he took out three sixers and climbed a tree and got that boy out, some of the soldiers says he must have superhuman strength or something" Mark said and chuckled at the thought, Maddy smiled weakly for she knew how close to the truth Mark really was

Mark saw how her mood seemed to sink and decided to change the subject a bit

"Your family seems very tight knit, even Lieutenant Lao seem very close" he stated

"Yeah Uncle Kono was sort of raised by my great grandfather so he's a part of the family" Maddy replied

"The Sergeant never speak about his family much but it's clear that he would go through hell for you all" Mark stated deadpan, Maddy smiled

"Yeah when Josh and I were small and then when Zoe was born, he was like an extra dad since my parents had to work all the time and when Dad were on those police undercover missions" she beamed, Mark noticed how she seemed to light up whenever she spoke of her family,

"What about you Mark, do you have any family here in Terra Nova or in the future?" she asked but regretted it since Mark seemed to get pained at the question

"I'm the only one of my family here, I was raised by my grandfather and he died about a year before I was recruited to Terra Nova" he stated with a slightly pained expression,

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to drag up any painful memories" she apologized and looked miserable

"No it's okay Maddy, you didn't know" he said and kissed her forehead and she hugged him and kissed his neck, which made HIM blush, her lips felt like angels wings, well off course since she HAD to be an angel herself,

"Do you want to come with me to the infirmary and visit my Uncle?" Maddy then asked him

"Sure why not so he can glare at me some more" Mark said jokingly which made her laugh that beautiful crystal jingling laughter again that he loved to hear or those breathless laughter's she looked absolutely stunning,

"Oh he's really a big teddy bear he barks more than he bites" she said still laughing,

"Yeah not to you maybe, but I'm his subordinate, and then there's your dad" Mark said worriedly

"Oh don't worry I'll protect you from the wrath of the terrible Shannon men" she teased beaming at him and pulled him with her as they started walking out of the orchards toward the outer ring and the infirmary past some workers of whom some had seen the couple smooching and were smiling after them all except Josh who were walking and stealing some fruit with Skye,

"I don't understand what she sees in that muscle-bound moron?!" Josh grumbled annoyingly, Skye hit him on the arm

"Josh it's HER life, let her live it, besides Reynolds is – WAS one of the most sought after guys in the colony….there'll be a LOT of girls crying when this comes out!" Skye stated,

"_If only I could get Josh to notice ME?!"_ she thought "_NO he's got a girlfriend in the future he intends to find a way to get here_" she thought despairingly as she reached for another orange fruit.

It was closer to midday when Lieutenant Washington came in

"Up at it Shannon, you have that appointment with the Commander in a few minutes so get dressed" she ordered and just waited, since Ben had already dressed this time so he avoided the comments, the skin injury on his right hand still itched like hell,

"Stop scratching it will only make it worse sergeant" Wash scolded him as they marched over to the command centre through the plaza past the motor pool and started up the stairs to Taylor's office, Ben had to stop half way and winced at the pain it had decreased but his antics the night before didn't do him any wonders apparently, Wash turned around and looked at him worriedly when Ben noticed she was watching he straightened up and gritted his teeth through the pain and walked on up and into the office,

"_Hope whatever's on those files won't screw him up….I guess the man deserves to know just how much those creeps screwed him over?_" she thought while eyeing him sympathetically as she followed him into the office where Jim and Elisabeth Shannon waited together with Kono who gave her a _please forgive me look_ and tried smiling at her Wash just shot him an icy glare that would have turned him into a man sized snow cone,

"Well now that you're here sergeant let's get this started, but before we do" Taylor said and put both hands on Ben's shoulders,

"Whatever's on them files doesn't change WHO you really are" he continued and then smiled

"Especially not after your heroics last night when saving that Marcos boy" he finished

"Thank you sir" Ben replied stoically, and Taylor went to the computer and activated the files again who started to line up,

"I put a decryption program on the rest, I've never seen this much encrypted files on just one man before" Taylor said

When the video files came Ben looked on with interest and then in disbelief,

"I recognize that lady she was at the school when I was still fourteen" Ben said and the others looked astonished

when they finally came to the pictures and vids from Somalia he twitched involuntary, Elisabeth and Jim stood beside him before he knew it and gave him an empathetic embrace before the videos continued when it got to Cuba he simply stared at the screen, and then;

Tashaya Radcliff showed up on the screen  
"We have tested the new psychotropic compound and it seems to have affected those that were too strong for the mental conditioning differently than the others true to our expectations the entire battalion practically butchered each other, but these no more than a couple of dozen young men and women became almost feral when affected, they would be excellent for project Darkstar" the video ended

"Axis Psi ops my ass" Kono growled out

"Unless Axis Psi ops are part of this Darkstar project?" Jim queried

"I don't know Sheriff, but this is exactly why I wanted to see this, there's no chance in hell those people would just let you go AWOL and come here, and I want to know why?" Taylor grumbled

"I'm guessing they didn't count on Lizzie being able to nick the code right of that damn chip in his head" Kono huffed, and smirked but Ben looked devastated….and REALLY angry,

"So almost five hundred men and women got killed, that I killed all my friends because of a fucking experiment?" Ben exclaimed angrily, both Jim and Elisabeth saw his anger was rising but also despair, Taylor took him by the shoulders,

"This proves that you had NO blame in what happened in Heartbreak valley" he said calmingly, Ben nodded unsurely

And Taylor pressed the link to continue the

UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY PLEASE ENTER ACCESS CODE

Taylor tried his command code but came up short but then thought for a while and mumbled to himself,

"Why not it's the one access code we haven't tried yet and entered Philbrick's code but still didn't get in until Elisabeth stepped forward

"This could be a long shot but before I deactivated the chip in your brain I scanned it and it was transmitting some form of code" she said and entered the code

"Maybe it's for the best if it doesn't work?" Ben said hesitantly

"Better we know what kind of shit they'd done Ben, but it's your call" Jim said

Ben thought for a while and then "Alright do it, but it's probably not going to work anyway"

Elisabeth pressed enter and some new files came up including a video file

WELCOME DOCTOR RADCLIFF

VIDEO JOURNAL OF DOCTOR TASHAYA RADCLIFF FEBRUARY 2132 ROSEWELT SCHOOL, CHICAGO

The video started up again and a younger version of Tashaya Radcliff showed up with what looked like a young boy in his early teens in a school nurse office,

"So Benjamin – sorry I meant Ben I remember from your file you do not like to be called that other name" she asked the boy who nodded

And now they could see it was Ben

"That was when I were at school, I remember her, she was….nice" Ben said

The video continued

"Well I am Doctor Radcliff but you may call me Tashaya, deal?" she said warmly and shook the young Ben's hand

"I need to do some tests, and take some samples" she said and after a few questions and some blood tests Ben had to go to the bathroom with _Tashaya_ waiting outside there were some _sounds_ from the bathroom and Tashaya was licking her mouth and smiling, which made Elisabeth want to puke,

"Looks like she wants to go in there and _help_ him" Kono chuckled before getting punched on the arm by Alicia

The image shifted to another room Tashaya started speaking again

"The first part of the experiment has been a success the subject genetic sample have been attained and will first be genetically enhanced along with some minor adjustments to the Target subjects ovum and then be used to impregnate the target subject who was closer by than I would have thought, even though she is married to the _paternal_ subjects brother but is just an ordinary policeman – which has been sent away on a three month undercover so that we can make sure that the target will not be impregnated by him by mistake" she chuckled

"As soon as the target subject is pregnant events will be set in motion to either remove the child to be placed in an artificial womb OR to be taken from the family when it is born as the family in question is already a family of four with the paternal subject included, in this way the Organization will be able to control the child and raise it to be part of the superior race this will be my crowning achievement" Tashaya said and then the log changed again and the dates shifted to a few months later

"Well I didn't count on that boy's sense of _honor_ and his dedication for his family, but no matter he will be given to General Philbrick's Youth program and turned into an obedient soldier, though still at age fourteen is showing an impressive physical and psychological condition despite his past" log ends

The log changed once again and the dates now showed several years later

"The subject has been doing good with his _rehabilitation_ after the events in the war in Somalia, where other men would have succumbed to madness possibly even suicide he and a very few others were strong enough to go on, HE because of his family, but what IS more important is the targets offspring she is now of age six and is already showing a remarkable high IQ level well over 200 and it might get higher as she grows older, when she is old enough we shall take steps to have her at one of the schools under the direct control of the organization" she said and the log shifted again

2145 DECEMBER DOCTOR TASHAYA RADCLIFF'S PERSONAL NOTES

"The target subject's body have reacted well over expectations to his enhancement, and the offspring as I predicted – her IQ level is already so high that even the famous professor Hawking would be considered a simple minded man by comparison, it has come to our knowledge that his brother and his sister-in-law are expecting another child – third child ha ha ha and HE is supposed to be a cop?" Tashaya laughed

"We will wait a few years and then use our influence with population control and have a search of their home this will off course reveal a violation of that law and the brother of the target as well as the third child will be removed to where is not important, what IS important is that the target subject would have been sent to Terra Nova to aid Philbrick but he has apparently been killed by his former subordinate" the log ends but soon comes up again

Jim who was already on edge noticed that Taylor twitch at the knowledge of Philbrick's death,

2149 TASHAYA RADCLIFF'S PERSONAL NOTES

An image of Tashaya Radcliff and she did NOT look happy at all

"DAMN that self righteous heretic, Kane and his insignificant little group have spoiled our plans the entire family have managed to escape to Terra Nova and some of the files on the target subjects have been stolen as well AAAAH!" Tashaya screamed in anger into the video recording device

"SOO these traitors seek to ruin generations of hard work by the Organization, but why would they help the target subject and his family? – But no matter the experiment have been a resounding success and as soon as Commander Taylor have been _removed_ from office I shall go there myself and take this girl it will not be easy since she is at least as strong mentally as her father but she WILL be mine" Tashaya hissed then she laughed almost maniacally

"WHO would have thought that Benjamin Shannon's perfect genetic match was the wife of his own brother James?" she laughed again maniacally and the video ended.

Everyone was dead quiet so quiet that only the sounds of insects and the shouts and voices from the colony could be heard, Jim was so angry that it was almost tangible, and he looked at both Ben and Elisabeth accusingly he KNEW this wasn't their fault but he just couldn't deal with this,

"Jim I….I….I -, this has to be fake, IT HAS TO BE?" Ben exclaimed and Elisabeth had tears in her eyes even Wash had some moist in hers and Taylor just stood there completely befuddled at all this information and then thought of his old mentor's part in all of it

"Doctor Shannon is there a way to check the DNA to determine if any of this crap is true?" he asked her

Elisabeth managed to snap out of her daze

"Yes it would be quite simple" she answered and inside she hoped this was all a lie at least for Maddy's sake, as they all walked out of the office and down the stairs for the three Shannon's and Kono it was as if the world had all but paused around them,

Taylor and Wash that didn't have the same history with them as Kono did and could only feel sorry for them and Taylor wondered what kind of supposedly benevolent god – ANY god would put a family through such pain as this one most certainly felt right now,

"_And I thought MY family was fucked up?_" he thought

When they got to the infirmary Maddy and Mark were already outside, Maddy saw them and waved happily to them

"Mom Dad, Uncle Ben, Uncle Kono, I thought Uncle Ben were supposed to be in bed?" she asked beaming at all of them she felt so happy whenever Mark was near, she saw Ben was still moving stiffly as if in pain but there was something else whenever he looked at her there his eyes looked even more self loathing then she had seen before until he averted his eyes.

Smythe snuck into Taylor's office and looked at some of the files the last ones and had to stop himself from laughing

"_Soo Madelyn Shannon is not the daughter of our dear beloved sheriff but to mister PRIM and PROPER Benjamin Shannon….OOOH the scandal_" He thought and snuck back out after having downloaded the most important contents, this time through the window making sure not to be seen, THIS revelation was another weapon he could use to destroy Ben Shannon with,  
he would upload this into the EYE and then see them squirm

"_I must have done SOMETHING right in an earlier life_" he thought as he started whistling and walked to his barrack

At the infirmary Elisabeth looked at Maddy with sadness in her eyes, Maddy couldn't understand why

"Mom what's wrong?" she asked as she was getting worried by their silence

"Maddy sweetheart I would like to do a take a blood test from you" Elisabeth said

"What why?" Maddy queried and took Mark's hand,

"Just a precaution there may be some virus and I would like to be sure" Elisabeth lied

"Okay" Maddy said still unsure but there had been that memory virus a few weeks earlier she understood that much

Elisabeth took the tests from first Maddy and then from Jim and Ben and then herself but no one else and Maddy started suspecting something was wrong and then when her mother checked the results on the medical computer it showed

PATERNAL TEST COMPLETE SUBJECT JAMES SHANNON TO MADELYN SHANNON MATCH 46%  
SUBJECT BENJAMIN SHANNON TO MADELYN SHANNON MATCH 99%

Jim felt as if a dagger had been thrust into his heart, Ben sank down on his knees, now Maddy was really worried and pushed her way to the computer before anyone had the chance to stop her and then gasped when she saw the test results,

"Maddy" Elisabeth said and put her hand on her by now distraught daughters shoulder trying to pull her in for a comforting hug but Maddy spun around and looked at the man she had thought was her father and the man she had thought was her uncle both men averted their eyes and looked at the floor, and she looked at her Uncle Kono but he just stared blankly into thin air with Washington trying to get a response out of him, and then she looked at her mother and there were tears in her eyes, Maddy's own eyes started watering and Elisabeth moved in and again stretched out her arms to embrace her distraught child but Maddy just ran past her and out of the infirmary,

"MADDY!" three voices shouted almost in unison

Ben looked and saw Reynolds standing there unsure of what to do and when he and Jim was about to run after Maddy Elisabeth stopped them

"No if either of you run after her she will only feel cornered, let me or –" she looked at Reynolds, Ben took the hint

And turned around to Reynolds

"Reynolds you go after her and make sure she doesn't get hurt" he ordered

Mark didn't need to be told twice and ran after his girlfriend; Maddy had seen something on that monitor that must have really frightened her.

**Well that was chapter 17 I'd like some good reviews on this one How did y'all like THAT twist?**


	18. Her Life is a Lie

**The shit has hit the fan in Terra Nova, Thanks for the reviews people,**

**I'd like to give thanks to Fallensurvivor for the inspiration as what I'd like to call being the Mistress of Angst here on FF, you all should REALLY read her TN stories they can be as heart wrenching and nerve wracking as anything I've read.**

After Maddy had run away with Mark running after her, all hell seemed to break loose as Nurse Ogawa and some of the other infirmary staff looked on as first Jim glared at his little brother,

"Have you been sleeping with my wife?" he growled at Ben who shook his head

"NO I would NEVER have done that, for fuck's sake Jim you SAW those files!" Ben retorted defensively

"Those files as you yourself said could've been faked, but the point is Maddy is YOUR daughter and not mine so don't you DARE deny this Benjamin Franklin Shannon" Jim said his voice raised

"DON'T YOU DARE take that tone with ME James Edward Shannon and don't you DARE drag Maddy in to this she has done NOTHING wrong" Ben said with clenched fists

"You cheated on me admit it, THIS is the thanks I get for taking you into my home with MY family"

"THANKS? YOU abandoned me and Mom to that coward IT'S YOUR fault she died!" Ben accused he immediately regretted his words it wasn't Jim's fault but right now Ben was angry and getting angrier.

Kono snapped out of his denial in time to see Jim and Ben prepare to start swinging at each other

"Lieutenants I think we better step in before –"Taylor had no chance to finish the sentence before the shit hit the fan as Jim swung his fist at Ben who tried to avoid a bit too late and was hit in the side of his chest and Ben doubled over from the pain, Jim regretted it the same second his fist made contact as he realized that was the side Ben was still injured on, Jim didn't want to hit Ben there, Ben could feel his ribs complaining loudly at this treatment as he sat on his knees on the floor,

"Jim stop" Elisabeth yelled but to no avail with a low growl Ben threw himself at Jim who had no chance to avoid and Ben rammed him square in the chest, he was still weak from his injuries and the pain almost made him blackout both from the punch and his movements, but the anger caused him to miscalculate when he rammed Jim and both left the infirmary practically flying through the door and onto the main plaza and people who were there watched on in fright at what was happening, as Jim and Ben knocked over a couple of soldiers who happened to be standing at the wrong place at the wrong time and people started to move out of their way but still staying close enough to see what was happening not wanting to miss this slugging match,

"Lao, Wash call on some more soldiers; we have to break this up before they trash the entire colony!" Taylor ordered but he was unsure of how many they would need when he saw the two brothers fight, Jim ran towards Ben and rammed him up against a Rhino who's occupants hastily evacuated the vehicle,

"Have they done this often before Lao?" Taylor asked Kono who just stood there staring

"Err sir no never this is the first time, I've actually never heard them even raise their voices to each other" they could clearly see Ben was labouring under the pain which prevented him to use his full strength against Jim and Jim didn't seem quite into this either this fight seemed to go on purely on stubborn pride,

"Bennyboy clearly have the best technique but Jimmyboy has the reach on him, AND it's obvious neither wants to really hurt the other otherwise I can see both have had their chances to end this fight plenty of times by now" Kono continued

Elisabeth came running out of the infirmary

"PLEASE someone stop them" she yelled

"Okay we better end this before either of them DO get hurt….OR they destroy something" Taylor replied as by now Jim and Ben were somehow on their way into the motor pool as he could see technicians and soldiers come running out and they could also hear objects hitting the floor in there.

This reminded him of when he and his brother Miles had fought over Ayani and they never patched things up again and it didn't go better after she died,

"_NOT again, not another good family will be torn apart because of something no one had any control over LEAST of all that poor girl_" Taylor thought resolutely

"Come on" he ordered and ran into the motor pool and though it took a good while and a few soldiers got knocked out but in the end Taylor Kono and about ten soldiers managed to separate the brothers,

"_I'm too old for this shiet_" Taylor thought frustratingly as he and two others dragged Jim Shannon away as Kono and three others dragged Ben away with Ben spitting blood and back into the infirmary.

Maddy didn't know or care WHERE she ran she just wanted to get away she HAD to, had _Uncle _Ben and her Mom been cheating on her _Dad_? No they would never do that, her Mom loved her _Dad_ too much and Ben would never do anything to hurt the family since he loved them all,

"_Those files there HAS to be something in them that can explain all this_" she thought and ran for the command centre, when she got into Taylor's office it was empty but they had obviously forgotten to turn off the computer, she walked up to the desk where the interface were and started searching the files that were already active and started looking and she saw everything from how the genetic material was attained all the way to when Ben had given himself up to the Youth program in order for her mother to be allowed to keep her, "_He sacrificed himself for me even then before I was even born?_" she thought and sat on the floor her tears started falling in earnest now.

Mark ran out of the infirmary and heard some raised voices from inside but he didn't care about that, he didn't give two shits about what her parents and Uncles did right now, now he needed to find Maddy, he ran around to the market not finding her and then he started thinking and stopped when he saw Reilly walking past from the command centre,

"Reilly have you seen Miss Shannon?" he huffed out

"Yeah I saw her running towards the command centre about ten minutes ago,

"Thanks" Mark said and took off the fastest he could, when he got to the command centre he leaped up the stairs in time to see Maddy sank down to the floor, he walked to her and knelt down beside her carefully as to not startle her, she was sitting and hugging her legs hiding her face in her arms, when she heard him coming she looked up and Mark could feel his heart ache as he saw the tear stricken face, the same beautiful face that had only little over an hour ago had been laughing and smiling with happiness,  
Mark didn't ask what it was he realized it had to be something on the computer files that he could see were wide open, he didn't care, right now all he wanted to do was to try and comfort her, he moved closer and opened his arms Maddy simply fell into his embrace and opened the flood works as she sobbed into his chest, he carefully sat down on the floor next to her still with her clinging to him crying,

"My entire life is a lie" she sobbed

"No Maddy, why would you say that" Mark asked as he held her with one arm and brushed through her hair with the other to calm her down,

"YES it is" she insisted

"You want to tell me about it then?" he asked gently

"You'd never want to be with me if I did" she sobbed

"Maddy nothing could make me not want to be with you" he assured her

"My life is a lie because someone wanted to play god with the man I thought was my uncle and my Mom" she cried, and explained through her sobs everything she could

After a while her tears seemed to have subsided as Mark were trying to understand it all,

"So let's see if I get this right" he said

"Your father's not your father but your uncle, and your uncle Ben is not your uncle but your father, was that correct?" Mark asked, Maddy nodded sniffling and looked at him she looked so vulnerable right then that he hugged her tighter letting her feel that he cared, if he could he would protect her from the all evils of the world,

"_God help me I'll do everything in my power to see to it she can feel safe_" he thought resolutely and he was angry at whatever people thought they could use anyone like lab rats LEAST of all her,

"I understand how that can feel difficult, off course I wouldn't know myself since I never knew my dad and I barely knew my mom" he stated deadpan and stroked her cheek gently

"Now that you know you don't want to be with me anymore, you deserve someone from a less messed up family" Maddy sniffled, Mark looked into those beautiful dark amber like eyes – so full of hurt right now it broke his heart that she had such low opinion of herself

"Maddy I'M the one unsure if I deserve you….But I sure as hell am going to do my best to make myself worthy, if you'll allow me to" Mark stated with full conviction as he continued with stroking her cheeks with his calloused fingers, her eyes were still full of tears so he just sat there with her holding her close trying to shield her from the last few days events, after an hour doctor Shannon and Lieutenant Washington showed up and after one look at Maddy who by now had fallen asleep from all the overwhelming facts of this day.

Elisabeth hurried forward and stroked her daughters hair and then looked at Mark, he could see there were dried tears in her eyes as well,

"She should go home so she can rest could you?" she asked, Mark simply nodded and carefully rose to his feet as not to awake Maddy and held her in his arms, she felt as light as a _feather_ to him – then again for someone like Mark that lifted most likely twice her weight several times a week in the gym it was no wonder,

"Thank you" she whispered to him but the look on his face made her smile at him

"Reynolds did you watch any of this" Wash whispered, Mark shook his head

"No ma'am, Maddy told me though" he whispered back and walked out after Doctor Shannon,

As they walked there were some people staring after them and some were mumbling, Mark didn't care – they could stare and mumble and whisper all they wanted as long as they didn't judge them they had no right to judge the Shannon family and least of all Maddy Shannon; Elisabeth noticed Reynolds casting dark glares at people and couldn't help but smile at his protectiveness to Maddy,

"_At least she has found a good boy that seems very dedicated to her_" she thought

When they got to the house after what Elisabeth felt like a gauntlet of staring morons, she opened the door and they entered and she walked in front of Mark and opened the door to Maddy and Zoe's room and lifted the covers,  
Mark carefully laid Maddy down and put the covers on her, Maddy whimpered a little in her sleep and Mark gently stroked the side of her head and she seemed to calm down,  
When Mark turned around and walked out of the room silently as to not wake her up Elisabeth noticed that his eyes were glistening a little, when she left the room and shut the door she put her hand on his fore arm gently and he turned around and she could see the anguish in his eyes

"Thank you for taking care of her and being there for her" she said

"Any time Mrs. Shannon, if she ever needs me I'll be there for her and it doesn't matter what time it may be" he stated deadpan, Elisabeth hugged him,

"Thank you anyway and please call me Elisabeth" she said but he shook his head

"That wouldn't be proper Mrs. Shannon unless Mister Shannon allows me to" Elisabeth rolled her eyes,

"Mark you DO know we are living in a modern age?" Elisabeth asked trying to keep a straight face

"Well technically we live in a pre historic age Ma'am" he retorted, and she laughed as silent as she could as to not wake up Maddy,

"I see now why Maddy are so smitten by you" she stated, Mark straightened and started turning to leave

"And I mean what I said, whatever it is if Maddy needs me just call me" he said and left

"_That boy is GORGEOUS, and kind, my baby girl is truly lucky to have him_" she thought and closed the door after him.

**Poor Maddy is devastated and Jim and Ben slugging it out! Will the family break apart? I'll do my best to update ASAP.**  
**Well that's chapter 18 if y'all want to I could post a bio or two for those of you that might be interested about Ben at least, so drop me a review about it or reviews in general.**


	19. Peacemaker

Commander Taylor and several of his soldiers had managed to separate Jim and Ben and preventing them from destroying anything more and Taylor was NOT happy that two of the colony's security officers and BROTHERS to boot had just had an actual domestic brawl about marital fidelity and worst of all a good portion of the civilians had seen them go at it and Taylor just KNEW the gossip mill would make sure it would be known by the entire colony – HECK probably even the sixers by day's end,  
he was just happy that poor girl had ran away before the slugging match had started so she at least didn't have to see her _father _and _Uncle_ fight over both her and her mother.

Taylor knew both from the files he'd read about them that this was a good and functional family despite the mornings antics, now though they were both sitting opposite each other but refusing to even look at each other, or even speak to each other,

"Okay enough is enough, is there any way to solve this domestic….DISPUTE in a good and meaningful way?" Taylor asked, he was furious at their behavior,

"A Polygraph test" Ben said without even looking up, still staring down into the floor in what appeared to be shame

"What do you think about that sheriff?" Taylor grumbled at Jim who likewise looked as if in shame

"Yes" he replied

"Good at least you two can start agreeing on something again" Taylor smirked but then his face became very stern

"But what you two started today I do NOT like especially when it happens in front of the WHOLE DAMN COLONY!" he yelled at them and both men seemed even more shameful

"Sorry Commander" both said in unison

"DON'T be sorry to me, the one you SHOULD be sorry to is that poor daughter of yours and the other kids" he berated

"How do you think they will feel when they hear about your childish antics?" he continued, both men looked even more self loathing,

"Lao go get Doctor Shannon so we can have that test, might as well get it over with" he said to Kono who nodded

"Sir are you sure you'll be able to….well…. keep them from going at it again?" Kono asked after a very stern look at Jim and Ben and turned and walked out quickly

Outside Kono met Josh who looked out of breath

"Uncle Kono I just heard that Dad and Uncle Ben have been fighting is that true?" he huffed

Kono looked pained; he didn't want to say anything

"You'll hear it sooner or later kiddo so yes they did but it's over now so don't worry about it go be with your friends" Kono said a bit more harshly than he intended

He walked quickly to the Shannon house he knocked on the door, Elisabeth had called him on the com before and told him they had found Maddy and brought her home,  
Elisabeth opened the door,

"Hey Kono how did it go?" she whispered, Kono got the hint

"The commander wants you to submit to a polygraph test together with Ben so we can clear out this whole mess" he whispered

"But nothing happened between me and Ben you _have _to believe me" she whispered

"Hey I believe ya Liz" he answered and then noticed Wash was there and nodded

"But I can't leave Maddy like this and Zoe just got home who's going to watch them?" she said

"I can watch them both, Elisabeth" Alicia offered

"Thanks' Alicia" Elisabeth said gratefully and left the house with Kono

"How are they? Jim and Ben I mean" she asked and Kono looked angry

"They're not talking or even looking at each other, I can't believe Jim would suspect you of all people would do that to him, and how could he suspect Ben his own flesh and blood" Kono growled, the whole thing was absurd and Kono would be damned if he'd allow those creeps in the future to ruin his family like this,

"How are you going to handle this with Maddy being Ben's daughter?" he asked

"I don't know I guess it all depends on what Ben and Maddy wants, I will NOT do to her what those beastly population control tried doing to Zoe and us, It's just that Ben is so afraid that he'll turn into his father that he may decide that Maddy is better off without him" Elisabeth said

"Don't worry Liz if Maddy wants Ben in her life as her father I will personally beat it into both HIM and Jim" Kono blurted out with fierce determination, Elisabeth was simply sad over this whole _affair_,

None of them noticed that Josh had been hiding beside the porch, and bewildered ran away to Skye's house he felt angrier by the step, how could they had lied to him? And Maddy if she was Ben's daughter then she'd be him and Zoe's half sister and….COUSIN! "This is so southern" he thought

When Kono and Elisabeth got to the infirmary the polygraph had been set up in Elisabeth's office and Elisabeth took a seat, they decided to test Ben first, Taylor looked at him, it was a device that also measured brainwaves, Reilly had brought the machine in and was now standing beside it and Ben  
"_Poor kid he's just had some really bad revelations and then gets accused by his own brother of cheating with his brother's wife?_"

"Alright let's get this started" he said and started questioning Ben

"Have you ever have sex with Elisabeth Shannon?"

"No"

"Have you ever done something that you are ashamed for?"

"Yes"

"Have you ever had an attraction to Elisabeth Shannon?"

"…."

Ben closed his eyes and swallowed

"Yes"

"Do you have any sexual attraction to her now?"

"No"

"Is there anyone in Terra Nova you DO have an attraction for?"

Ben turned a bit red

"Y….yes"

"Is that person in this room?"

"Yes"

"Okay last question" Taylor said

"Would you ever betray your brother or his family?"

"No!" Ben said with hard finality and glared at Taylor, Taylor noticed Ben's eyes started turning from their usual grey to almost steel colored,

"Okay that's enough of the questions for you then sergeant, Doctor Shannon if you please" Taylor said as Ben stomped away from the table as Elisabeth sat down and Taylor repeated the procedure,

After another twenty minutes the test was done and Taylor gave the results

"Well they both nailed the test, though Sergeant Shannon's pulse was somewhat difficult to read, most likely because of his enhanced blood make up no doubt, but according to his brainwaves he told the truth" Taylor said

Now Kono walked over to Ben and stared into his eyes

"Ben, when did you have an attraction for Elisabeth?" he asked and for the first time in his life Ben averted his eyes,

"About a week before I went to Cuba" he answered

"When you were recalled?" Elisabeth asked

"I thought you knew?" Kono turned around to Elisabeth and Jim "Ben wasn't recalled he volunteered" Kono said and turned to Ben

"Why did you do that? After Somalia you said you never wanted to go war ever again?" Jim asked

"Because I didn't want to even risk dishonoring neither Liz nor you" Ben said, now it was Elisabeth and Jim that looked guilty

By now Taylor ushered the rest non related out of the office and turned to Ben and Jim

"I trust you two to NOT trash this place" he said warningly to Jim and Ben

"OH I'll make sure they won't sir, don't worry" Kono said and then turned to glare at Jim

"Jim how in HELL could you ever even THINK of accusing Elisabeth would cheat on you with Ben?" he yelled, and not using the nicknames so typical of him made them all realize he was angry

"And why would you even suspect Ben could something like do that to YOU, his OWN FLESH AND BLOOD?" he continued his tirade,

"That Ben lost his temper after YOU accusing him NOT to mention PUNCHING him, I can understand, since he's always had a hard time controlling his temper" Kono continued

outside Taylor had to tell his soldiers to cover their ears to at least try and not hear Kono giving Jim a good yelling, he'd never seen Lao that pissed off before but then again having his foster brothers start throwing punches over something as this especially brothers that had never even as Lao had said raised their voices against one another it was understandable,  
"_It's going to take a LOT for them to get through THIS"_ he thought

In the office Jim was still squirming from the berating he'd gotten as Kono switched to Ben, While Elisabeth took HER turn not yelling but more subtle berating

"And Ben you can't deny the fact that Maddy IS your daughter, SOMEHOW you and her are going to have to come to terms with that" Kono half yelled at Ben, he could after all understand WHY Ben would be reluctant to acknowledge her as his daughter,

"Ben, would you PLEASE drop the tough guy act, since I know its all bullshit anyway!"

"It's not an act Kono, this is who I am, and Maddy will be better off without me ruining her life anymore than I apparently already have" Ben stated deadpan and Elisabeth switched from berating Jim to him,

"You can at least talk to her Ben" Elisabeth pleaded, then it hit her "_WHY have I not seen this before_" she thought, Ben had always been very mature for his age and he had been IQ tested at school and had been shown to have quite high intelligence not as high as Maddy off course but high enough so he could have gone into a descent college after high school, but had chosen instead to be a _Bad boy_ even though a very bright such, except for all the tests there was no doubt he WAS Maddy's father,

"NO Liz, It's better that I apply for long term OTG, she's young and a lot stronger than she or you give her credit for, she'll get over this, besides I will NOT be the cause this family suffer anymore" he said his eyes had that _dead_ look in them he had after his mother was killed and after Somalia,

"Don't do this Ben, please do Not shut us out" she pleaded she had tears in her eyes, she could see tears glistening in Ben's eyes,

Ben felt a hand on his shoulder he turned around and saw his brother and realized how ridiculous it had all been

"I'm sorry Ben I shouldn't have accused you like that OR punched you" Jim said with moist eyes

"It's okay Jim you had a right to be suspicious, though when I'm fully healed we can have at it in the gym if you'd like!?" Ben retorted with a weak smile still fighting his own tears

"But I'm sorry too that I punched you" Ben said

"No I did NOT have any right to accuse two of the people I love and SHOULD trust most in the world" Jim insisted and Kono stared at the ceiling and Elisabeth joined him in that

"Great are they going to start arguing in reverse now?" Kono laughed

"Well at least they are acting like adults again!" Elisabeth said, "More or less"

"Well then time to get a certain gentleman back to his biobed" Elisabeth said with finality, Ben for some reason did NOT like the word _Bio_ at all.

Josh was still fuming when he reached Skye's house or rather the house she shared with her house mates, when he banged on the door, and it opened by Hunter with blood shot eyes, he barged in so fast that Hunter practically fell on his back,

"Josh what's going on?" Skye asked apprehensively

"THEY'VE LIED TO ME, AND THAT CHEATING BASTARD I THOUGHT I COULD TRUST HIM!?" Josh yelled out

"Trust who Josh?" Skye asked perplexed then Tasha came through the door just as a still slightly hung-over Hunter managed to pick himself off the floor

"My Uncle and my mother having an affair that ended up in my sister being born" Josh raged on

"Your what, with your WHAT?" Hunter slurred out and Max who just came out from the shower looked at him

"Dude you REALLY need to cut back on tasting the moonshine" he said and then noticed Josh

"Hey Josh what's with the commotion?" he then asked

"My Mom has had an affair with my Uncle and my sister isn't my sister" Josh growled out

"The tall handsome hunk with the black hair, Lao right?" Tasha asked

"NO My Uncle Ben" Josh growled out again, Hunter looked as if he was still sleeping

"Whoa and HE'S the….?" Skye started but couldn't finish the sentence

"YES MY UNCLE BEN IS THE FATHER OF MY SISTER MADDY!" Josh roared he was red of anger all over his face

Now Hunter seemed to have sobered up

"HOLY SCHITT" he said not that sobered up,

"Okay Josh start from the beginning and tell me what's happened" Skye said with a calm voice

Josh told everything he had overheard and that apparently his Dad and his Uncle had been fighting, after which Hunter decided it was time to go back to bed until the world made sense again

"Dude that'sch like schoo schouthern…." He slurred out and closed the door to his room,

"How much have HE been drinking?" Josh asked now somewhat calmed down

"He tasted some of the yet unfermented Taroca root we were making" Skye explained rolling her eyes at Hunter's antics.

**Well that's it for chapter 19 don't worry people I'll get along with the story soon enough.  
Please review this and tell me what you think.  
OH and NO offense to the proud people living in the southern US states my inclusion of you in this manner is to show that bias can survive a long time, personally I have great respect for those people, **

**He he, I haven't even reached "Bylaw" yet. When I started I never thought I'd go beyond chapter 1 but thanks to good support I'm past even 13 or 14 chapters, **


	20. At least Talk to Her

**WHOHO OVER NINE HUNDRED VIEWS, whatever that means**

When Maddy woke up it was getting dark outside but Zoe was not in her bed so Maddy figured it was not that late yet,

"_Mark must've carried me home_" she thought and wished he was there as she remembered the day's events,  
"_He has a life of his own I can't expect him to show up whenever I need it_" she thought

she got up and looked in the mirror, her hair was a mess, she got up and quickly brushed her hair and then opened the door and walked into the main area or living room of the house, there she found her parents and Zoe sitting, when they noticed her Elisabeth and Zoe came up to her and hugged her,

"Maddy, are you okay?" Zoe asked innocently, though she was still hurting Maddy smiled as best she could to her sister as not to worry her,

"I'm alright I just had a headache is all" she answered and hugged Zoe back and then looked at her _Dad_ who for a moment looked over at her and then stood and walked out leaving the house,

"_He's angry with me because I'm not his daughter" _she thought despairingly and another tear threatened to break free from her eye again, Elisabeth noticed off course

"Should I call Mark, he offered to help if you ever needed it?" she offered but Maddy shook her head Elisabeth could see the dark rings under her eyes

"No I can't expect him to come over every time I need him" Maddy said trying to sound tough like her…._father/Uncle_ - this was all too much and she walked over and sat in the couch hoping that it would blow over the next day, Zoe came over and did the only thing she knew how to make it better – she gave her sister a hug, Maddy hugged her back and a tear came down her cheek "_I'm a freak!_" she thought, she decided to go and see if she could talk to Ben the next day or maybe wait a few days and let everything calm down, Yes that was what she could do!?

Ben laid on that biobed he just hated after having laid for what felt like weeks, it was dark outside and he was alone with his thoughts.

"_Maddy is my daughter, what am I supposed to do?"_

"_I'm not fit to be a father; I'd only ruin her life"_

"_I'll see the commander in a few days and then decide, in the meantime it's better I simply avoid her, she's way better off without me"_ he thought and then tried sleeping but it was a fitful rest and sleep wouldn't come to him easily but in the end he managed to fall asleep.

When Josh came home he was dead drunk and staggered into the house and saw his mother and sisters on the couch having a _hugging party_, when he looked at Maddy he was angry….not at her but at his mother mostly and at his Uncle Ben,

"Hello there couschin, how's your _Dad_?" he slurred out without thinking, and staggered towards his room, Zoe looked at him and he smiled goofily at her

"Hey sis, how was your day" by now all three were looking at him worriedly especially Maddy who looked sad at his words,

"OH Maddy did you know our Dads had a fight over you and Mom?" he slurred out

Maddy turned and looked at Elisabeth who gave her a sympathetic look and then turned to Josh with an angry frown

"Joshua Shishir Shannon you are drunk, maybe you should go to bed and sleep it off" she said with an icy voice she didn't want to be too harsh with him since this must have been hard on him as well, but she did NOT like it that he let it out on his sisters,

"Schurre thing _Mom_, just one queschtion is Dad really my dad or is it Uncle Ben? Or maybe it's Uncle Kono?" he asked still slurring; by now Zoe was looking scared, what was wrong with her brother he never acted like this before?

"JOSHUA, go your room, NOW!" Elisabeth yelled and realized that Zoe was sitting right beside her, Josh staggered in to his room and slammed the door shut, and Zoe started crying, for a moment Elisabeth thought both her daughters were about to cry though Maddy looked very distraught she instead took Zoe into her arms and rocked her back and forth but Elisabeth could see the tears in her eyes,

"_She is SO like her father, I cannot believe I didn't see it before_" she thought

"_If only Ben would at least talk to her?_" she thought before she told the girls it was time for bed

Maddy lay awake staring up at the ceiling

"Maddy if Uncle Ben is your dad then are you still my sister?" Zoe asked, Maddy looked over at her, Maddy knew that Zoe didn't mean it but she felt hurt

"Off course I am, but I'm your half sister" Maddy answered she didn't want for Zoe to hear her crying though the tears came again now, Maddy had to hold her mouth in order to avoid for Zoe to hear the sobs,

"I still love you Maddy, and you will always be my sister to me" Zoe said, Maddy wondered how angry Josh must be at her.

The next morning Ben was awoken by some commotion and got up and walked to the entrance of the infirmary and saw a couple of soldiers carrying in a body bag – Ben had seen such too many times not to recognize it, Commander Taylor followed after the soldiers,

"Sir" Ben said and straightened Taylor nodded in return

"What happened sir?" he asked

"We found Ken Foster partially eaten from a nyko attack at communications relay station 19-A" Taylor answered and followed the others into the morgue area and Ben wanted to get out of the infirmary until he heard a familiar voice

"Sir you really should go back to bed" he spun around and saw Anna Reilly standing there with her hands at her hips, he really LOVED when she had that determined look in her beautiful ebony face that were slightly weather beaten but still beautiful, she had strong features, and the hair despite being a soldier who had to choose efficiency over good looks she still managed to have an attractive hair style, "_WHAT THE HELL?_" he thought angry with himself,  
"_I've already caused enough women problems without adding to that number_"

He was interrupted in his thoughts when Reilly gently but firmly together with Nurse Ogawa that came from one of the offices led him back to his biobed, "_I HATE that thing_"

"Sir I don't know if you've heard this but someone's been spreading rumors about you and your family" Reilly said after they had managed to get him to sit down

"What kind of rumors" he asked though he did have an idea since a lot of people must've seen him and Jim fight,

"That you're the father of Madelyn Shannon instead of the sheriff?!" she said, Ben felt a chill down his spine a chill that were soon replaced with anger at people spreading rumors about his family, people judging them.

When she didn't get a reply she continued  
"I wouldn't worry though since it seems to be that idiot Hunter Boyce who's been spreading the rumors"

"Who?" Ben asked

"You know one of your nephew's friends….the ones who always sneak out" she answered

"Why?"

"Well the gossip mill which is usually Tasha Guzman says he….has a thing for your niece" Reilly answered and then she saw how Ben's face darkened,

"WHAT?" he growled and started getting up again, which caught the attention of Kono who were on his way and walked over

"Sir you really shouldn't be getting riled up about this, Boyce's always been a moron who's probably fried what remains of his brain cells by now " Reilly tried calming Ben but to no avail when Ben was about to march straight out of the infirmary and hunt that little shit down

"Hey Bennyboy try to calm down" Kono said

"You know about this?" Ben growled

"Yes but as Reilly just said the kid's a moron who drinks a lot….and I DO mean a LOT" Kono said calmingly

"But the family don't need this right now, least of all Maddy don't need this kind of crap at all" Ben growled angrily,

"Actually it was Josh, he must've overheard me and Liz talking about this yesterday, and went to Skye Tate, and she came by the house this morning and told Liz" Kono explained

Ben seemed to calm down somewhat, then Elisabeth came in

"Ben you can leave the infirmary BUT you are STILL of duty for at least a week, and if you're going to the gym you are to take it easy" she commanded, Ben had trouble meeting her gaze

"Okay Liz" he answered

"Liz how's Maddy by the way?" he asked still with his eyes wandering everywhere else but at her,

"She's fine more or less, yesterday was….difficult for her" Elisabeth said and tried to make eye contact but it was pointless when Ben was like this it was near impossible to reason with him, she could see the shame and sadness in his face,

"_Why is he acting this way, It's not his fault what happened_?" she thought

Ben simply nodded and left the infirmary with Reilly in tow, Reilly had been instructed by Elisabeth to keep an eye on him,

Ben went straight to the bar with Reilly following off course, he saw Maddy walking down the street and he could see her looking at him so he simply pretended not to see her and walked into the bar,

"Boylan you still have some of that fine carrot juice?" he asked the barkeep who grimaced and then smiled with his pudgy face

"I'll never make much money on YOU sergeant" he said and brought up a bottle of the juice, Ben paid him and took the bottle and sat down at a table it was still early noon and the bar was somewhat empty, only a couple of the waitresses walking around the table yawning as they went making everything ready,

"You want a drink Reilly" he said when she approach him and sat down and tasted on the mug he poured for her and then smiled widely,

"_He's sort of prim, DAMN IT I have to get him into the sack and soon_" she thought.

Maddy had seen that Ben kept on walking and pretending he didn't see her, she KNEW he had to have seen her,

"_He doesn't want to talk to me either_" already on the morning Josh had done his utmost to avoid her,

"Hello there" she turned around and saw one of Josh's friends looking at her _Hunter_ she thought his name was, he was smiling in a way that made her wary,

"How are ya feeling?" he said, Maddy squirmed under his gaze and he seemed to take it as an invite as he moved closer

"I'm sort of dealing with something right now" she tried to deter him

"Sorry about your troubles Maddy, you want to take a walk with me?" he asked again

"Thank you but no, I….I've have to be somewhere" she said trying to go around him since he didn't move out of her way, but when she tried going around he simply stepped into her path again and a bit less than gently grabbed her shoulder,

Suddenly someone grabbed Hunter from behind and literally threw him to the ground, it was a soldier and Maddy thought it might be Ben but instead when he started speaking with a heavy British accent,

"Did you not hear what the lady said Boyce? Obviously she is NOT interested in you drunken advances" Nick snarled at Hunter, who simply scurried away from the glare Nick gave him and stood up,

"Chill out Smythe, I'm not one of your grunts you can boss around as you please" Hunter said trying to sound defiant but Nick simply stared him down,

"Piss OFF wanker" Nick growled at him and Hunter walked away as dignified as he managed, afterwards Nick turned to Maddy who sighed in relief,

"Thank you sergeant Smythe" Maddy said thankfully and he simply smiled at her

"Think nothing of it my lady" he smiled again and bowed

"Do you need anything Miss Shannon?" he then asked her politely

"No thank you I just wanted to try and talk to my….err….Ben" she said hesitantly

"Then I shall not disturb you my lady" he said courteously and turned around but then stopped

"If he bothers you again then tell me and I shall set him right" Nick added "_Yeah to the grave if he thinks he can go near her again!_" he thought viciously, Maddy smiled weakly at him and walked on looking at the ground when some kids from her class walked up to her and stood in her way,

"So what's it like to be an inbred freak?" a boy _Brian _she remembered his name as

"Excuse me?" she asked weakly

"You know your mom screwing your uncle; just one question how old was he when it happened thirteen - fourteen?" Brian asked with a mean tone of voice

"It's not inbreeding since my Mom and my….Ben is not related by blood" Maddy said defiantly she was getting angry, which was a mistake as Brian grabbed her right wrist painfully

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" he snarled at her, Maddy's eyes started to tear up from the pain

"C'mon stop it Brian, you're hurting her" another of the kids said

"You will release her NOW young man" a man said in an Irish accent sternly, and Brian obeyed

"Do your father and mother know you are harassing your fellow students?" The man said sternly as Maddy turned around still with tears in her eyes, massaging her wrist with and saw who it was; Father O'Neal who stared sternly at the other children who quickly walked away, Brian lingered for a while but took off when he realized his entourage had abandoned him,

"Are you alright there Miss Shannon?" he asked now with a friendly tone, Maddy nodded Father Flanagan looked briefly at her wrist,

"Come with me to the chapel so I can have a look at that" he said smiling warmly, Maddy nodded and followed him,

"Thank you" she choked weakly as she was walking beside him still with her eyes at the ground

"I am truly sorry child that this had to happen to and your family but to you most of all" Father O'Neal said empathically,

"How did you know?" she asked hesitantly

"I am sorry but I thought you knew child, someone have uploaded the information about your parents onto the EYE" he said they had finally reached the chapel that also looked very much like a Hindu shrine as well she looked at the building curiously until Father O'Neal noticed as they were entering

"Ah you're wondering why this also looks like a Hindu shrine as well as a Christian chapel?" he asked, she nodded

"That's because there are many Chistians living here but also many Hindus, so Hope Plaza decided we needed two different shrines but also since practicality have to come before religious needs so we had to share the same house" he said smiling and Maddy smiled a little

"I guess I'm Hindu like my mother but we seldom pray or anything" Maddy said, O'Neal rummaged through some drawers

"Well let's see if I can borrow some of that salve my colleague Pujari Wahab keep somewhere around h….AH here it is" he said and brought forth a small bottle which he opened and then motioned for Maddy to sit opposite him, she did so and he started examining her wrist, and he smeared a little of the salve on her wrist, it had a very strong fragrance but nice, after a while the pain in the wrist lessened,

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore" she said and Father O'Neal smiled again

"Miss Shannon, whatever people say to you or about your family, DON'T bother, my colleague would say something similar, we are all God's children every living thing whether it be plant or animal life" he practically preached and then chuckled

"Sorry for my rant there, Child, I tend to get carried away sometimes, well be careful young lady and if you are ever in the need for guidance then you come to me or if it is spiritual you can go to Wahab, or if you are in the mood for a friendly chat over some tea" he said and smiled, Maddy smiled back and walked out of the chapel/shrine,

She walked to the main plaza and looked around for Mark or….Ben, she shook her head annoyingly

"_Why can't I just say it? He is my father!_" she thought and felt sad again "_WHY won't he talk to me about this?_"  
Then she remembered something Ben had said that he weren't going to have any children

"_He doesn't want to be my father because I'd just be a burden to him?_" she thought and once again the tears threatened to break out and she walked home fast, and when she got there went straight to her room.

On the exercise court Ben was trying to relax by doing something his old mentor Cobra had taught him – well not old considering he was only six years older than Ben, this was one of the few things Ben DID remember; to meditate by first drawing a triangle on the ground and then placing his hands on the edges of the triangle and then his head inside it and finally putting his knees on his elbows and then lifting himself up on his head and hands with his legs pointing straight up, and then let his thoughts flow away, they had apparently caught the one responsible for Fosters murder some guy named Milner, "_I knew Jim would get him sooner or later_" he thought, he continued to meditate until late evening until he felt more centered and then went to his room and before he fell asleep  
"_I'll talk to her tomorrow after Foster's funeral_" he thought and then fell asleep.

The next morning when she awoke, Maddy took her usual shower after her mother had finished showering Zoe, and off course draining what hot water there were left and went back to her room and dressed and then brushed her hair, she felt some pride in her hair.

As Maddy walked out of her room and into the main area she was met by her parents, she looked at them,

"Morning Mom morning D…." she stopped, she was confused as to what to say, Jim walked closer she started to go past him but he stopped her by gently placing a hand on her shoulder, the tears she had managed to contain started stinging behind her eyes again,

"Maddy I'm sorry I ignored you, I shouldn't have done it" he choked, she could see tears in his eyes, she tried to be resolute

"I thought you were angry with me too?" she asked

"I wasn't angry with you sweetie, I was angry with myself for not being able to protect my family" he said, Maddy hugged him and felt her mother come up and hug her as well,

"I'm not your real father but I love you just as much as I did before" Jim assured her

"What about….Ben?" she squeaked pitifully

"He loves you too Maddy" Elisabeth said comfortingly

"No he doesn't, because I'd be a burden to him" Maddy choked between sobs

"That's not true pumpkin, he loves you, and even if none of us knew, I KNOW he'd be a good father figure….heck he's been one all these years without even knowing it himself" Jim said

"But he said he'd never wanted to have any children of his own" Maddy choked out again

"He's scared Maddy….that he might fail you, that's why he doesn't want it" Elisabeth said

"When you were born Maddy, Ben held you since I was working and couldn't be there" Jim said and then chuckled "One of the nurses actually thought HE was the father, of course we know now that he IS your father, I arrived just in time to see the population police take him away" he continued

"When Josh was born he swore never to allow what him and Jim had to go through would ever happen to any of us, least of all to you kids" Elisabeth said still hugging Maddy

"Wait Ben could never be scared, he went into that jungle and rescued that little boy, he went to war and almost died….he DID die" Maddy sobbed, "He chased away the _monsters_ under my bed when I was little and scared" Maddy stated in a low voice

"Sweetheart in a way Ben's always scared, that he will fail everyone, but he never has" Elisabeth explained,

"Are you angry with him for being my…._father?_" Maddy asked

"I was not angry with him I was angry that those _people_ in the future who thought they could play god, but NOT that you were born which I'm still grateful for" Jim stated,

"Now let's go outside and pay our respects to Foster, shall we?" Jim asked, and they all went out Maddy noticed that Josh where nowhere to be seen,

"What about Josh?" she asked

"He'll accept it, and I KNOW he's sorry for the other day he just have this little thing that all Shannon's especially the men have" Elisabeth said

"What is that?" Maddy asked

"Stubbornness and pride, and he is almost as stubborn as Ben" Elisabeth stated Jim gave her a look of mock hurt and she laughed even Maddy laughed a little, and they went out as Zoe was still in school, As she went out Maddy saw Mark getting ready and walked up to him but then also saw Ben standing in dress uniform and looking miserable in it, Maddy felt like both sobbing and laughing at the same time at his awkwardness, for a moment he turned and it looked as if he was going to wave to her, but then he looked into the ground as he noticed her and Maddy could feel her heart breaking again,

"_WHY is he so scared of being a potential father? Since he's been one to me without realizing it all my life not in name but in action at least!?_" she thought sadly

Ben had left the barracks as it was more formal rather than duty to attend and he had managed to find that ridiculous dress uniform, and now he and Cronk were standing at each side of the coffin and waiting for the funeral procession to march off and out into memorial fields,  
Ben could see Maddy walking up to the front of the loading platform of the rover they had put the coffin on, she looked at him for a moment and Ben wanted to go over and talk to her just to make sure she was okay but instead when she looked straight at him all he could think of was that monster of a father of his and he looked down into the ground in shame.

Maddy walked up to Mark and at least he looked at her there was a mix of sadness no doubt over his friend and anger,

"He Mark" she said

"Hey" Mark said

Mark looked at Maddy and he thought she looked absolutely shell-shocked he wanted to reach out and embrace her so she would know she was not alone,

"_I know the sarge has his reasons but most normal men would be proud to have a daughter like her so why the HELL doesn't he talk to her?_" he thought angrily to himself, he was angry at all three Shannon men for treating her like this, he was even more angry at the brats that had picked on her especially that little shit that had grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sorry about your friend" Maddy said

"Thanks….I hope the guy that did this gets banished like he deserves" Mark blurted out angrily and then he saw her looking even sadder

"I'm sorry….I know it sounds harsh" he said

"No you're right, I just think this is a very sad day for the colony….I mean this I supposed to be a new beginning, a place of hope, but it seems that some of the same problems have followed us here" Maddy said despondently, and in that moment she looked so perfect as can be, "_So compassionate despite what's she's been through and also so sad which is understandable_" right there and then Mark knew what he wanted in life and who.

And then it was time to move the sad procession out of the gate towards _Memorial fields_, the honor guard with Ben and the other sergeants leading it after Lieutenants Washington and Kono and Commander Taylor and Father O'Neal walking beside Taylor, when they got to the field a grave had already been dug, Commander Taylor held a short eulogy after which Father O'Neal started chanting in Latin,

To men like Taylor, Kono and Ben and Cronk and to women like Wash this was nothing new it was sad but it DID happen nonetheless.

After the funeral it was time to pass judgment over Howard Milner for the crime of murder, Ben could understand the man wanting to kill for his wife AND his wounded pride, but he had broken the law, and justice HAD to be made – one does NOT take the law into one's own hands,

"Ours is a society of laws" Taylor started  
"_A moral speech_" Ben thought as Taylor went on, there were some protests from the civilians but Taylor was adamant,

"Never come back to the colony" Taylor finished, Ben noticed as Maddy buried her face into Jim's chest which made his heart break in twain, Jim was watching Mrs. Milner and then Ben looked at Howard…. "_There's something that don't add up about this_" he thought and at that moment Jim's and his eyes met and darted from each other and to between the Milner's, and both brothers seemed to come to an understanding that there were something about this that felt….too easy.

**Well that's it for chapter 20 folks I know it's been angsty and that about Ben being Maddy's father I KNOW it's a gross canon violation, but bear with me I promise it will brighten up soon enough.**


	21. Father to Uncle and Uncle to Father

**Ok here comes chapter 21 just read and enjoy and if you REALLY want to read some good Terra Nova stories check my profile for my ultimate list and start reading.  
And I promise I will NOT torture the poor Shannon family TOO much for too long. Josh's reaction to the "Dark revelation" about Maddy was easy just have him do some major temper tantrum (And drink).**

After Howard Milner had been banished Ben watched for him for a few minutes and then looked over at Jim who were still holding Maddy, Ben looked from her to Reynolds who looked longingly at her,

"Reynolds" he barked

"Yes sir?" Reynolds answered and Ben could detect a little anger in the young man's voice,

"You got anything to do this evening?" he asked

"No sir" Reynolds said with more harsh tone than he intended to, which cause Ben to raise an eye at that.

"Then why don't you go and spend some time with my n….with Maddy?!" Ben said almost stumbling over his words and more than a little impressed over Reynolds's attitude and let it slide,

"_Good he's protective of her means he cares deeply….she NEEDS that right now_" Ben thought, and watched as the kid walked over to where Jim and Maddy stood and said something and Maddy looked first at Jim and then smiled weakly and took Reynolds's offered hand and they both walked off.

As Ben walked up to Jim and still Jim could see Ben had trouble making eye contact,

"I'm guessing you felt all that were too easy as well" Ben stated and Jim nodded

"I'm having a gut feeling about Milner's confession," Jim said when Kono came over as he were still worried about his brothers after that scrap they had the other day, Jim noticed the look on his face,

"Oh Kono, ya don't need to babysit us all the time, we're NOT going to start slugging it out again" Jim stated annoyed and Kono just smiled that annoyingly sly smile of his,

"Then why are you two standing here whispering like a couple of sixers or something?" Kono asked

"Firstly I think that Milner lied to us when he confessed" Jim said and then told Kono about what he'd been suspecting ever since the banishment

"So what are you suggesting we do then?" Kono asked,

"I go out and get Milner back after everything settles down, and then after we bring Milner home we talk to him and his wife WHY he gave a false confession" Jim said but Ben shook his head

"You are NOT going out there alone Jim" hi growled but Jim raised his right hand

"all I've got is a gut feeling, and I don't want to get either of you two in trouble, all I need is for you to be here and cover for me a little" Jim said and Kono had to agree though Ben was still shooting lightning at the entire idea but even he had to relent in the end,

Twenty minutes later Kono was already regretting agreeing to actually potentially disobey the ruling of his CO, as him and Ben were standing at the gates,

"So Bennyboy, have ya talked to Maddy yet?" he asked, Ben just looked at him and the shame was evident in the younger man's steel colour eyes,

"No, I haven't but I….I'm going to request a long range OTG as soon as I'm cleared for duty again" Ben answered, Kono frowned at that

"Why?" Kono asked, even though deep down he knew the answer

"Because as long as I stay here I'll just keep screwing up her life, she deserves a better….a better father than me" Ben answered

"Plus she already has a father, a father who can be there for her, a father who's been there all her life not some killer like me" Ben stated deadpan, Kono could feel a pang of pain at Ben's words,

"Ben, don't you think she'll be even more hurt if you leave?" Kono said, and almost wished he hadn't said anything as he saw Ben's eyes narrowing – not at him but simply narrowing his eyes and frowning,

"So you're just going to abandon her and run away again like you did before and probably try and get yourself killed….for real this time?" Kono said and looked on as he saw Ben getting angry at his words,  
"_GREAT I think I'm actually pissing him off_" Kono thought as he knew that when Ben got angry it would be near impossible to calm him down, Both Ben and Jim had inherited the anger of the _Shannon clan_, but Ben had inherited most of it thanks to their father being a total prick,

Right then Kono got an idea, he walked a little away from Ben until he were certain Ben wouldn't hear and picked up his com and called the infirmary, and asked for Liz

"Yes what is it?" Elisabeth asked when she answered

"Liz could you go and talk to the commander about Ben – he's actually considering to leave OTG as soon as he's back on duty" Kono started

"Why? That would only devastate Maddy even more, she already blames herself for Ben not talking to her even though we tried convincing her otherwise" Elisabeth said

"I may have an idea as to how to fix this but it will require some readjustment for us but mostly for Ben and Maddy, nothing serious though, it's either that or we sacrifice Ben and this time I REALLY think he might just get himself killed, hunting sixers or something, sooner or later he'll meet someone – or something that'll be faster and or stronger than him" Kono said

"I KNOW Ben would be a great father to ANY child – he just has to start realizing that himself" Elisabeth said

"So you're with me on this then?" Kono asked

Elisabeth thought for a while, she KNEW that if something were to happen to Ben the entire family would feel the pain despite what Ben thought, his death would cause more rather than alleviate the pain,

"I'll go and talk to the commander right away, but I need to talk this over with Jim as well" she said

"I agree as soon as Jim comes back I'll talk to him about this" Kono said, and they both agreed to do so Elisabeth went to the command centre, when she entered Taylor were sitting at his desk reading reports as Washington stood waiting at the desk, both looked at her when she came in

"Doc Shannon what can I do for you" Taylor said

"Commander Taylor, I need to talk about my brother-in-law and about my daughter….HIS daughter" Elisabeth started and then explained to him about the last two days since the revelation and about the problems,

"I see, but you DO know I can't simply stop a good soldier from going OTG if they volunteer" Taylor said but then he started thinking about how his own family had been practically broken up because of him making a similar decision as Sergeant Shannon years ago and saw how the poor girl – Maddy becoming as bitter as his…."_HELL NO, that I'll let that happen – NOT again not if I can prevent it_" he thought determinedly, This family deserved a friggin break after what they've been through,

"Alright, but what do you suggest Doctor?" he asked

"A sort of shared custody between Ben and me, if Maddy and my husband agree of course" Elisabeth suggested,

"Where is your daughter now?" he asked

"I can answer that sir; she's with Reynolds taking a walk" Washington piped in

Taylor scratched his trimmed beard for a few seconds and then turned to Washington

"Wash, call Reynolds on the com and tell him to ask her to come with him here" he said and then turned back to Elisabeth

"I'd just like to say that I consider this meddling on SO many levels, but this place IS after all about a fresh start, especially people like Ben Shannon and heck all of you Shannon's considering what I've seen on them files" he said and then

"EVEN if you are a bunch of trouble makers" he mock growled and smiled,

After about fifteen minutes, Reynolds and Maddy entered the office and Reynolds being the good soldier he always were stood at stiff attention and Maddy and Wash just rolled their eyes at him,

And Taylor looked at Maddy and smiled warmly

"Miss Shannon, I wanted you here to talk about what you think about Ben Shannon, only a couple of days ago we found out he's your biological father, not his fault nor your mothers and least of all yours" he said softly to her

"What is it that can be done commander, he wants nothing to do with me" Maddy said miserably

"I don't think that's correct young lady, I KNOW for a fact that he'd do anything for you, of course right now he seem to be under the impression that staying here will cause you harm" Taylor explained and Maddy's eyes widened with surprise

And then Sheriff Shannon of course had to barge in before Taylor had a chance to talk further about it all,

"Miss Shannon Doctor Shannon, Reynolds I'm sorry we're going to have to finish this later, you all come back later today after I've heard whatever it is that the sheriff wants to tell me" Taylor finished and turned to listen to what Jim Shannon wanted

As Maddy and Mark left and were walking away from the command centre they could hear Jim and Taylor talk in there,

"WHAT?" she heard Taylor burst out

A quarter of an hour later Taylor, Lieutenant Lao and a squad entered, as Jim Shannon had been pulled aside by his wife to discuss _another_ matter, as they entered the bar Boylan gave him that wide pudgy smile of his,

"Well Commander Taylor, what can I do for ya" Boylan asked with his cheery accent

"Boylan, I've been waiting to say this for a long while, we'll be conducting a search of your bar" Taylor said and Boylan's smile got smug

"He he, must really bite ya that I own the only establishment that operates out of your reach?" Boylan retorted and after a few minutes of word fighting with Taylor

"We're taking you in Boylan" Taylor stated deadpan, and as Boylan were taken away growling at Taylor, the commander turned to Kono

"Search the place Lao don't leave any _stone_ unturned" he ordered and walked out after the soldiers that took Boylan

"Okay guys you heard the man, search the place"

Kono looked on as his men began to search the bar top to bottom and saw Josh walk down the stairs

"Josh, what the hell are you doing here?"

With bitterness in his voice Josh said "I work here or is that something I don't have permission to do?"

Kono walked over to his nephew and said

"Josh I may not be your father but I warn you don't take that tone with me, and I hope you never talk like that to your mother and father." He continued

"Go home right now, I want you to look after Zoe, and I heard you were drunk the other night. If you ever do that again, I'll put you in the brig for a week. I don't know what is causing this bad attitude but it stops right now, understand?"

"Why does it always have to be me?" Josh hissed at him and now Kono were getting more than a little annoyed

"What do you mean _always you_, you usually run off every time there's a chore to be done and since WHEN have you stayed home and looked after Zoe?" Kono started

"It's usually Maddy who does that!" Kono almost growled out

"IT'S ALWAYS about her ISN'T it; Maddy's always been the golden girl, never doing anything wrong?" Josh hissed

"THAT is enough Joshua Shishir Shannon, you go home NOW" Kono snapped at him.

Josh threw the broom he was using to sweep the stairs away and stormed out.

At the infirmary Elisabeth were talking to Jim about what her and Kono had talked about earlier

"So do you agree on this Jim?" she asked him, Jim seemed deep in thought for a while and then,

"A cooking class, I mean I knew he took violin lessons so he could learn how to play that beloved fiddle of his but….COOKING?" Jim asked completely flabbergasted

"No he took extra classes in the home sciences among other things" Elisabeth explained

"Like what?" Jim queried worriedly

"Singing, child care, arts and languages I think it was Gaelic and Spanish and….philosophy as well" Elisabeth finished, Jim's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets,

"No wonder he had trouble in school" Jim huffed out

"JIM?" Elisabeth scolded and Jim raised both hands in surrender

"Are you saying my brother was actually smarter then he let on?" he asked in surprise

"Yes, why is that so hard to realize?" Elisabeth asked

"So hard to realize what?" Maddy asked as she were entering the infirmary, Jim filled her in and she laughed

"Those are some of the classes I took you know!" she said but Jim shook his head

"Not the same thing sweetie, Ben never told me about these classes, plus you're incredibly smart….he wasn't….Isn't!" Jim retorted

"Jim, Ben IS a LOT smarter than he's been letting on" Elisabeth retorted again

"But his grades never showed any of that?" Jim maintained

"Because he showed little interest in school other than a few subjects" Elisabeth answered

"But to the main question, ARE you okay with this?" Elisabeth asked again, and Jim nodded

"Yes I suppose I am" Jim sighed "_Damn it if I'm not her father than I'd at least be proud to have Ben be that instead_" he thought resolutely,

"About what Mom" Maddy asked

"That if you want it Ben could officially acknowledge you as his daughter" Elisabeth said to Maddy who looked miserable

"I don't want to cause him any trouble" Maddy said and both Jim and Elisabeth smiled

"OH sweetie, you ARE his daughter, you are so much like him and now that I know the truth it is painfully obvious" Jim said and hugged her

"But what about you d…." Maddy whimpered

"Baby girl I will ALLWAYS love you JUST as much no matter if you're my daughter OR my niece" Jim answered, and Maddy looked first at him and then Elisabeth

"And it might even get his head screwed on right for a change" Jim continued

"So do you want Ben to be your actual father, remember it will not change anything of how I or your mother feels about you, and Zoe is still your sister and Josh is still your brother",

"And cousins" Maddy said despondently and both Jim made a choking sound

"Ahem well yes sweetie but best to leave those words separated shall we? People" Jim chuckled and Maddy smiled at what he said

Maddy thought it over, "_Ben have always been there for me and Josh and Zoe like an extra dad, and he DID say he would be proud if he had a daughter like me_" she thought and then looked at her mother and the man she had thought were father,  
"_The only thing that might change would be the titles really_" she thought again

"As long as it is okay with you, _Dad_" she said haltingly and Jim smiled

"All I want is for you to feel good about all this, I have already accepted how things are, I was never the best dad BUT….I Can be a great uncle….I hope since I've never been one….maybe I can ask Ben or Kono on how to behave like an uncle" Jim added the last parts with one of his smiles that indicated he were semi serious, Elisabeth laughed and Maddy smiled back

"Then I guess I want it….but ONLY if Be….n also want to be my father, I will NOT force him" she stuttered

"_AND to stop this insecurity_" she thought and had a face of pure concentration that made Jim and Elisabeth chuckle

"If nothing else you are DEFINITELY a Shannon alright, that same face they all have when they are really determined too" Elisabeth said and laughed when Jim gave her a mock glare, then Jim's com beeped and he answered

"Sheriff here" he said into the com,

"I'll be there in a few minutes" he said and then turned towards Elisabeth and Maddy and smiled

"Sorry but I have to go help Taylor with a few things, but after that we'll talk to Ben" he said and then walked out of the infirmary.

Ben since Lieutenant Washington had forbidden him from doing _anything_ work related so he sat in his room playing various tunes on his fiddle when he heard a slight shuffling of feet outside, he put the fiddle down and walked to the door and opened it – the hall outside was empty apart from a few of the soldiers – female soldiers who stood and doing various chores that didn't seem to actually be real chores the most amusing was private Diana Shackleford who were polishing her boots…._without _any shoe polish at all and Reilly who stood at her door _talking_ with another Joan Wilder he thought her name was and at least two more standing around doing absolutely nothing – a LOT of nothing,  
Ben shook his head and wondered what the hell was going on, then he remembered what Reilly had said at the hospital about the _girls_ having some sort of betting pool on who would get him into the _sack_,

"_What the heck_?" he thought, he knew he was at least mildly attractive but still "_There are a lot more younger and far more good looking males in this place, why would they be interested in me_?" he thought and shook his head and went back into his room and closed the door, he felt sad about his impending decision to leave on OTG, he didn't want to, and he was angry at Kono for accusing him of _running away_, he sat and played a sad ballad on the fiddle among them some old civil war songs his grandfather had taught him.

Outside Sergeant Shannon's quarters Reilly and about three other female soldiers were sneaking a bit closer to his door to listen.

When the music started again this time another sad ballad everyone even the usually disciplined Anna Reilly all but swooned, before they had to go back to work

"Is he really that sad?" Diana said wiping a tear from her eye,

"Didn't you see what some prick uploaded to the eye, about his family? – About his niece that apparently is his daughter?" Joan asked annoyed

"Who would do such a thing?" Diana asked

"Some asshole who seems to have it in for him and his family, I guess" Reilly growled

"Yeah okay, but it's not incest since Doctor Shannon is not related by blood" Diana retorted

"And I've been hearing some crap about the whole thing from some conservative morons, and that brain dead idiot Hunter Boyce have been spreading it around during his drunken revelry" Reilly said

"What kind of a moron would do that to that wonderful family?" A another female soldier asked

"Hunter Boyce started the rumours during his last bender" Reilly said

"I'm going to kick his ass!" Diana growled

"First he's a civilian and secondly it would be a total waste of time and effort since the guy probably hasn't got a brain cell to his name left anyway" Reilly admonished.

As Wash was on her way to fetch Sergeant Shannon after being called by Taylor that they had _caught_ the one who was truly guilty for the murder of Ken Foster – it was Tim Curran and Taylor and Sheriff Shannon had brought him OTG and banished him on the spot, and then told her to go get Sergeant Shannon for some serious family _therapy_, she were just about to clear the training field when she saw five female soldiers among them Corporal Anna Reilly exit the barracks of second and third squads – chattering like lovesick little girls as they were talking about the _sarge_,

She smiled about what she heard, "_poor Ben he's going to have to be careful as to avoid a full on brawl over him_" she thought, true Ben Shannon was handsome and those sad _suffering_ eyes made most women's hearts ache – and he DID have a nice butt at least – not as nice as Kono's from Alicia's point of view anyway, but a handsome face even WITH the scars that only strengthened his _rugged handsomeness_, "_And he seems interested in Reilly….good_" she thought.

As she entered she understood why the others were so _reluctant _to leave as she heard what must simply be the most beautiful and sad tones played on a violin or fiddle as Shannon called his favorite instrument, she walked up to his door and knocked politely,

"What?" she heard him say in an annoyed voice and opened the door

"I'd like you to accompany me to the command centre sergeant" she said he put away his fiddle with an almost tender carefulness into its case and put it under his bed and followed her out,

When they got to the command centre Taylor and Jim and Elisabeth Shannon were already there together with Maddy Shannon and Mark Reynolds obviously sensing something important and wanting to give moral support to Maddy "_cute_" she thought and in the corner she could se Kono smirking at his own _awesomeness_.

"What's this?" Ben asked surprised and then it started to dawn on him

"Jim, Liz I told you I don't want to wreck her life anymore than I've already have" Ben said but Jim fixed him with a stare

"Ben Maddy IS your daughter whether we like it or not – What is it exactly you are so afraid of when it comes to fatherhood?" he then asked

Maddy watched the man she had always thought of as an _extra_ father – now he looked almost _scared_.

"That….I….I'll become like Dad myself" Ben stuttered, Taylor had checked up on that – Richard Joseph Shannon had been a true monster of a coward beating both his sons and their mother, But Taylor could also see that Benjamin Franklin Shannon would NEVER harm any child least of all any of the Shannon kids,

"Son, I'll let you in on a little secret that few know about except Wash; I was never there for my kid nor enough anyway and that is something I'll regret for the rest of my life – I'm not going to order you to do the right thing here….I'm begging on behalf of your daughter, she needs her father" Taylor said solemnly

"But Jim have been her father her entire life, had we not decided to look at those damn files none would have been the wiser" Ben said with finality

Elisabeth started getting more than a little angry at all this honour crap AND the incessant Shannon stubborn pride

"DAMN your idiotic pride Ben, last time you left, for Cuba it almost wrecked our entire family, I will NOT let you do this again ESPECIALLY not when my….OUR daughter is hurting because the man that have been like an _extra_ father the man that IS her real father thinks that the right thing to do is running away….as if THAT would solve anything" she said with a very stern voice

"But Liz I'd be terrible as a father, I wouldn't even know HOW to be a father, not like Jim….Heck even Kono would be better" Ben said

"Oh thanks a lot little brother" Kono said in mock hurt

Elisabeth looked at Ben after what he said and Ben could see what she were about to say and shook his head with a pleading expression in his face

"Wouldn't even know how?" Elisabeth started

"I'm sorry Ben but I'll have to tell you a few things" she said and then started

"Let's see YOU were the one to stay at home during my first and second pregnancies taking care of both me and Josh when he was born"

"Yeah but I had to…." Ben tried to diffuse what he KNEW was going to be humiliating but Elisabeth raised her index finger like she were scolding him

"DON'T interrupt, and then just so you could help out more you took classes in domestic science including child care, plus the fact you had such patience helping out with changing their…."

"OKAY, you don't have to mention everything….please" Ben pleaded but Elisabeth continued to count up all his _faults_ as a father meantime Ben were squirming on the spot and Taylor and Washington were actually wondering how long it would take before the poor man was going to burrow through the floor, he was blushing like a tomato

"After you came home from that dreadful war, YOU were the one to stay home with both Josh and Maddy while I and Jim were working" Elisabeth finished and Ben sighed, Wash had to stifle a giggle

"_A miracle he's even standing after THAT broadside_" she thought

Both Kono and Jim looked at Ben who were still squirming under their gaze and from Elisabeth's _word barrage_,

Taylor finally decided to pipe in since he could clearly see Lao getting ready to fire off some teasing remark

"So Sergeant, you do not think YOU are worthy of being the father of a sixteen year old girl am I right?" he started

"After THAT list Doctor Shannon just counted up, if YOU are not good enough then NO man in the entire universe are good enough to be a father at all!" he exclaimed Maddy stood looking at Ben she knew that he could all those things that he simply _dumbed himself down_ with everyone else, Mark simply couldn't believe his ears

"_What is this an entire family of geniuses_?" he thought amused

Jim stepped forward to Ben and put his hands on his baby brother's shoulders, Ben was still blushing heavily

"Ben I'm going to say this once, I KNOW you and I know you would rather die than risk hurting or hurt coming any of us, that's why you gave yourself up to the population control and that's why you _ran away_ to Cuba, You've been a GREAT uncle to my kids and I know deep in my heart you'd be a GREAT dad to Maddy and if ANYONE deserve to be her father than she'd be lucky to have you being her dad" Jim finished

"But what about Maddy she's been torn up with the roots by this, and what about what SHE wants….I will NOT have her feel as if she's being forced into this?" Ben tried a final time but Jim and Kono and Elisabeth saw his _resolve_ against it had collapsed that last statement was simply a valiant _retreating action_ as Joshua Shannon their grandfather would have said,

Maddy left Mark's side and walked up to Ben

"I want to acknowledge you as my father but only if you want the same" she said resolutely and stared him down he looked down at her….at his daughter and a tear fell from the eye where the scars were, Maddy were almost taken aback by it years ago when he came home from Somalia even if her memories from those days were sketchy at best she remembered how his eyes looked so full of shame – not anymore now she could see something else in them - pride and hope

"This is what you want sweet pea?" he simply asked and she nodded tears in her own eyes now, Ben turned around to face Commander Taylor

"Then sir I'd like to acknowledge Maddy as my daughter….IF that is alright with Jim and Liz" he stated

Taylor looked at Elisabeth and Jim who both nodded and Taylor showed Ben a plex pad which Ben signed and then turned to face Maddy again who hugged him which he returned

"You don't have to start calling me dad or anything" he stated

"Why not?" Maddy asked she WERE getting tired of the constant confusion about labelling him lately

"Because first, I need your forgiveness….not yet though but soon one of these days I'll ask for it and then you can decide if I'm worth it" Ben said by now even the stoic Alicia Washington were wiping tears furiously from her face, Elisabeth and Jim came forward and added to the hug, as Maddy felt a little snuggled in by it, Mark looked on and felt happy that everything had worked out for Maddy he could see the heavy sadness in her face had been replaced by the same happiness she had shown before all the revelations struck, the Shannon's were once again a family changed but strengthened,

"How will we handle visiting arrangements?" Elisabeth queried at Ben and Jim

"I can visit as usual" Ben said but Elisabeth shook her head

"No I meant which week will she be with you and what weeks with me and Jim?" she said

"OH she is NOT visiting OR staying with me at the barracks" Ben stated firmly

"Why not there's probably some room I could stay in" Maddy asked

"NO Maddy you will NOT spend ANY amount of time in the barracks with all those apes around" Ben stated again the last made Taylor and Wash chuckle – they both knew Sergeant Shannon cared deeply about the men and women under his command but that he may have problems separating between family and work under such circumstances and Wash came and whispered something into Taylor's ear

"I'm surprised I haven't thought of that myself" he said which made the Shannon group hug break up and look at the officers

"Sergeant Shannon, since you've been serving exemplary in TN security not to mention you'd probably have been promoted much earlier if not for that incident in Cuba, so I'm promoting you to Warrant officer second class, and as such you'd be a commissioned officer and Wash here has offered her house over to you" Taylor said, Ben looked surprised

"Err sir that's not necessary I can manage as is" he protested half-heartedly but Taylor raised his hand

"As a commissioned officer you are supposed to have a house anyway and as a father to Madelyn Shannon you need a house" he stated

"But sir, where will Lieutenant Washington be staying then?" Ben asked

"Oh don't worry _Bennyboy_, I'll be moving in with Lieutenant Lao here" Wash said and moved closer to Kono who at first looked taken by it and then smiled up

"But there's going to be some ground rules" she stated

"Thanks Bennyboy, oh and sorry about before" Kono said

"Sorry for what sir?" Ben asked

"I was worried you were not interested in girls, with those classes and all" Kono said with a very teasing grin

"Why wouldn't I be interested in g…?" Ben started and then his eyes narrowed

"I am NOT GAY Kono!" He half growled Elisabeth and Maddy looked around and stared down Jim, who had to cover his mouth as he had trouble not laughing,

"And THAT will be rule number one, No more teasing your brother about those classes which I frankly think makes a REAL man, a man that can take responsibility and I did also take art and music classes at school" she started

"Or are you saying that men can't be men taking such classes?" Wash said and fixing Kono with a dangerous glare,

"Of course not Alicia" Kono blurted out

"Good you may actually get to sleep IN the bed room tonight….on the floor" she said, Taylor simply sat there NOT wanting to add to Lao's misery

The only one that were not finding the jokes about sergeant – Warrant officer Shannon's classes were Mark, he had himself taken a few similar classes not that many though and probably no way near as good but decent,

"Okay Bennyboy sorry about the joke" Kono said and Jim nodded to as Elisabeth were glaring at him practically incinerating him on the spot,

"No harm done Kono….I mean Lieutenant, I'm sure I can track down my masculinity again someday" Ben said with a smile, Frankly Ben didn't care if people thought he was gay,

"Well good Kono" Alicia said and turned to Ben

"Okay you can come by in the morning to my house and we'll start clearing out whatever I'll take with me" she said and then without as much as a word took Kono by the ear and marched him out of there, of course she were planning on having a little fun with him she just wanted him to squirm a bit first….which was part of the fun, as Taylor and the Shannon's were laughing at Kono's _discomfort_, there was ONE person hidden behind the wall of the building with eavesdropping equipment listening in to what was being said, and Nicholas Smythe were NOT happy at all,

"_Bloody hell, getting closer to Madelyn will now be even harder than I thought, and now that stupid paddy will be even more insufferable now with that rank_" Nick thought as he hid the equipment back into the equipment shed and walked to the bar,

"_Wait maybe I could use that idiot nephew of his, and he works at the bar for that bloody aussie, even if it takes longer time I shall possess Madelyn, they say all things come to he who waits_" he thought and smiled and started whistling as he always did when he felt in a very good mood.


End file.
